Last week, Georgetown announced that the city's Police Department will begin testing an emergency notification system that will enable them to directly contact the homes or businesses in a certain area. The system, which works like the so-called "reverse 9-1-1" program, will allow emergency management personnel to place more than 2,000 calls in 30-minutes. The system will send a recorded message to a home or business phone.
In July 2005, a truck overturned on Interstate 35 in Georgetown and drums of explosive xylene ruptured. No one was injured from the spilled chemical, but a larger spill, said the city in a release, could have created a serious public hazard. In such a situation, the ability to quickly notify people in a given area is critical. Until now, first-responders in Georgetown have relied on the news media, the city Web site, or the city's outdoor warning siren system, which has limited coverage and no ability to convey a specific message.
The area for the first test messages is Sun City. Those who are in the test area will hear the following message when contacted by phone: "This is a test of the city of Georgetown's Emergency Notification System. If this had been an actual emergency, you would be given official information and instructions. This concludes this test of the Georgetown Emergency Notification system."
Messages of up to 30 seconds in length can be created to notify people when there is a public safety threat. Those situations could include hazardous chemical spills, wildfires, bomb threats, or persons with weapons.
Kevin Stofle, assistant chief of police and emergency management coordinator for the city, says the emergency notification system is available to Georgetown through the city's participation in Capital Area Council of Governments. Known as CAPCOG, the planning and coordination agency serves local governments in a 10-county region including the counties of Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson. The agency provides 911 database and technology support for member agencies, as well as a wide variety of other services.
"The emergency notification system is operational already. We're now in the testing phase," said Stofle. The city's 911 call-takers in the Police Communications Office will use online maps and the 911 telephone database to identify people in a particular area that need to be contacted. Once the emergency message is recorded, then an authorized user simply draws a circle or rectangle on an online map to indicate the affected area, and the system will call all the homes or businesses in that area.
According to Kent Cawley, regional emergency planning coordinator for CAPCOG, the system has been used a number of times in the last several months, including a chlorine leak incident in Austin and a wildfire in Hays County. Cawley says the system can send out a message within five minutes or less, once the operators are trained.
"With this system, for the first time we have a fast and direct way to communicate with people to alert them of a nearby threat. With quick notification for people in harm's way, we can save lives," said Stofle.
