Boyd 911 Director Sandy Ott said the new system will feature geo-locating capabilities and voice dialing to landlines so alerts can not only be more specific, but also reach those who do not have access to text messaging or computers.
Administrative training will begin this summer and Ott hopes the new system can launch as soon as June 1.
Ott explained that AlertSense will allow government agencies to post from the same source so that users will not have to sign up for individual alerts.
The voice dialing feature will be automatic for alerts and will not require users to sign up online.
The geo-locating capabilities will allow users to tailor alerts to a specific area so they can decide which ones are important for them. For example, those living in Catlettsburg would have the option of not receiving boil water advisories in areas like Westwood or Skyline Drive in Ashland.
Ott said 911 and other agencies will give notice of the system change through Nixle and social media so that users will know to sign up for AlertSense.
Ott said the decision to switch came after former Emergency Management Director Brent Webster introduced the company to administrators, who agreed it was the best funding package for the features available.
It will cost an estimated $13,000 per year or less, Ott said, compared to $30,000 to $40,000 through other companies or more sophisticated packages.
Another feature of AlertSense will be the way it uses mobile phone networks to notify anyone going in and out of the area of a major emergency by attaching messages to the cellphone towers.
“It will only be used for a true emergency, like an Amber Alert or major storm system,” Ott said. “But we could activate that system and it hits the cell towers so everyone who even comes into the area on Interstate 64 or U.S. 23 during that particular time span will get the message.”
Greenup 911 Director Buford Hurley said his county’s team is trying to find a suitable package that will allow people to communicate with 911 via text messages in case the situation is not suitable for a phone call.
He said this idea gained national support shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings, during which students tried to text 911 for fear of the shooter hearing their voices, but their messages were unable to go through.
Dispatcher awareness week
“It is for people to see that 911 isn't just something you can take advantage of,” Ott said. “They are real people behind the consoles, answering those phones and we need to get them the recognition they deserve.”
Greenup and Boyd County 911 agencies celebrated the work of their dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunications Week by raising awareness of the voices answering and directing vital emergency calls and raising their spirits through fun dress-up days, like Friday’s Support Your Favorite Sports Team Day.
“You know who they are because they’re the ones taking calls and giving them out, but you don't know anything about them,” Greenup 911 Director Buford Hurley said.
He explained it is easier to get to know more visual public safety officials, like policemen or firemen because they directly interact with citizens, but it is more difficult to get to know dispatchers since they spend their work days managing emergency phone calls.
Boyd Judge-Executive Steve Towler and Catlettsburg Mayor Randall Peterman declared proclamations for the awareness week.
Boyd 911 was also presented a Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police accreditation during Tuesday’s fiscal court meeting.
“They are the true ‘first responder’ to every call for help and that is an awesome responsibility that should not be undervalued or taken for granted,” Ott wrote in a release.
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