County officials and representatives from the Armstrong County 911 Center plan to demonstrate how the $28,000 system will work.
In order to receive an alert, residents must register with the county.
The notifications can come on their cellular and landline telephones, and through email and social media blasts.
The county is buying the system from Airbus DS Communications of Pittsburgh,
“This is an important step for Armstrong County as we continue moving forward,” said Dave Battaglia, chairman of the Armstrong County commissioners. “This system is state-of-the-art and is going to benefit everyone across the county for any kind of emergency.”
The system, which should be in place by January, will be operated through the 911 center, Battaglia said.
It will allow officials to alert county residents of any kind of emergency immediately.
“We really wanted something to be able to reach everyone, no matter what kind of emergency is happening,” Battaglia said.
County officials' first discussion of a warning system came during a jail oversight board meeting in August, after Robert Crissman Jr., a 38-year-old jail inmate from Boggs, walked out of the jail July 30 and allegedly killed Rayburn resident Tammy Long.
Jail siren considered
Along with the alert system, Battaglia said county officials are still considering a siren at the jail to alert anyone near the jail of an emergency.
“It's something that is still being looked into, because if we were to put a siren at the jail, we want to make sure it's done properly,” Battaglia said.
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