CodeRed alert system goes live for Washakie County

WORLAND — Washakie County Emergency Management Director Jeff Schweighart announced Friday that Washakie County residents now have the opportunity to trial test a new advance warning system for the county, to work alongside the current Rapid Notify system used by county dispatch.

Covered by a grant from the state, the $4,400 CodeRed subscription package enables residents to be notified, via cell phone application, of weather, chemical, police, fire, Homeland Security and emergency Warning System emergencies, with a feature that can target residents in a specific area for evacuation.

The CodeRed Mobile Alert app, developed by OnSolve, a mass notification system provider, is designed to keep subscribers alert and informed anywhere in the United States.

The CodeRed Mobile Alert app is “geo-aware” and will send you notifications based on your location. If you travel through a CodeRed client-community, you’ll get alerts from that area even if you are not a resident.

For instance, as pointed out by Schweighart, if there is an emergency in Ten Sleep that requires evacuation or a “shelter-in-place” order, people in that area will receive the information, while not required for surrounding areas. The same would apply for residents of Worland, were there was a Worland-specific emergency.

Also, once subscribed, if you are traveling outside Washakie County anywhere in the United States, CodeRed will notify you of local emergencies or travel warnings.

According to CodeRed, you don’t need to live in a CodeRED client-community to use the app or receive alerts and the company has a more than a decade-long partnership with the agency A Child Is Missing (ACIM), who launches notifications for missing children and at-risk adults all over the country. So, even if your city doesn’t currently utilize CodeRED for their emergency notification system, you may receive ACIM notifications if there is a missing child in your area.

Currently, emergency alert notifications are sent through Rapid Notify to individual email, phone and text message accounts, to alert emergency personnel of an event, or to instruct residents of specific areas to avoid during potentially life-threatening situations.

The system can alert subscribers through a variety of services, from Washakie County Dispatch, to the Federal Aviation Administration, National Weather Service and Department of Homeland Security.

“Communications is always the weakest link in emergency management, either in language barriers to understand or in equipment.  No matter how robust and grand of a communication system you have, it will fail at one point or another on you.  This is why your emergency management director encourages and promotes to have at least two means of communications in tied aspects,” said Schweighart. “We are very excited to test and revive the CodeRed and all the new capabilities available to us and enhance our community efficiency.”

Users can access CodeRED at www.washakiecounty.net and www.washakiecounty/Homeland-security.