Emergency Alert Systems

This section of our technical library presents information and documentation relating to Emergency Broadcasting Systems and Disaster Recovery Applications. Should an emergency arise in your community, our 911 broadcast service can deliver large volumes of calls quickly using thousands of phone lines simultaneously. In the event of a blizzard, wild fire or devastating flood, your community can be notified quickly given specific instructions if an evacuation is required using our emergency broadcasting service. If a dangerous chemical spill occurs in your community, you can target specific areas to call. If a severe snow storm hits your area, your community can be notified of school closings or event cancellations.

The following article relates to emergency broadcasting and how it is used in various communities today. This information was obtained from the internet with attribution to the author and/or community.

System Will be Available to all Local Municipalities, Police Departments

 April 16,2003--Albany County Executive Mike Breslin and Sheriff James Campbell, together with Majority Leader Frank Commisso and other members of the County Legislature, today unveiled an emergency notification system that will quickly alert citizens or emergency personnel by telephone of impending or in-progress emergency situations.

The Albany County Community Emergency Support System (ACCESS) automatically contacts first responders, crisis action teams and communities-at-risk to deliver incident-specific information or instructions.

“The system was purchased in order to help the County prepare for and respond to emergency situations, such as chemical spills or bio-terror attacks,” Breslin said. “But the Sheriff and I recognized that ACCESS had a great many uses and would be particularly helpful to our municipalities and their police departments. We decided to make it available to them at no charge, not only to save our communities the costs of purchasing a similar system, but in order to help promote inter-jurisdictional cooperation between all our public safety forces.”

Sheriff Campbell said “Emergencies and crisis situations are totally unpredictable and without warning. With each situation, timing is crucial and very critical. Communication during these periods must be accelerated and accurate. The emergency notification system features address those issues.”

The system uses desktop mapping software to target notification areas, including homes, businesses and schools in addition to preset databases for notification of a large number of people within minutes. The system processes up to 18,000 listed names and phone numbers per minute and places 24 calls per minute.

"This will provide a valuable public safety tool in times of impending or in-progress emergency situations,” Commisso said. “In addition to citizens dialing 911 when there's trouble, the authorities will now be able to call citizens in an emergency."

ACCESS confirms a message receipt, documents individual responses and prints comprehensive reports detailing notification results. The system features remote call-out activation, fax-on-demand, mass fax distribution and can run multiple, simultaneous scenarios. It involves easy activation by multiple users, requiring passwords and PIN numbers.

The system can pinpoint calls to a single neighborhood, advising residents of a missing child. Or, it can contact the residents of an entire town (or much larger area) to warn them of a hazardous materials spill and provide them with specific evacuation instructions.

Police departments across the country have used this system to quickly mobilize staff, locate missing people, prevent and solve crimes, issue safety and weather advisories and inform the media and the public of possible or ongoing emergencies.