CodeRED alerts now available to Nelson County mobile, landline phone users

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, 11 a.m. — Nelson County Dispatch has launched CodeRED, a free emergency notification system that will send those who sign up localized safety alerts on their mobile or home phone, using voice and/or text message.

CodeRED is a product similar to CallOne currently used by the local school systems.

CodeRED is currently deployed in dozens of communities in Kentucky and around the country. Telephone users must subscribe to receive the alerts, which can include Amber Alerts, weather warnings, boil water advisories, road closures and more. There is no charge to subscribe or receive the alerts.

To receive the alerts, telephone users must sign up with their phone number(s) and a street address. The system can issue alerts by geographical zones, and an address is important in order to receive alerts for the subscriber’s area.

“If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called,” according to Debbie Carter, director of Nelson County Dispatch.

Those who wish to subscribe can visit the Bardstown Police Department website, the local Fraternal Order of Police website, or the Nelson County Dispatch Facebook page to sign up for the alerts.

“For those who do not have internet access, we are planning several events to allow the public to sign up and help them through the process,” Carter said.

For those with mobile phones, CodeRED has a mobile alert app available for iPhone at Apple’s AppStore and for Android phones at the Google Play store.

All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the past year, and those who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.

“The CodeRed system will allow us to deliver the most up to date information in the event of severe weather or another type of emergency,” Carter said. “The system also allows us to effectively communicate with the deaf and hard of hearing in our community by sending emergency alerts via text message.”

To sign up, users must provide a phone number and address; mobile users must also provide their mobile phone carrier.

The data provided by those who sign up for CodeRED will only be used for emergency notification purposes and will not be shared.

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