By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN
Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama)
Copyright 2006 Montgomery Advertiser
Montgomery area residents can dial 911 during an emergency. Soon, city and county emergency management officials will be able to call residents and alert them of a disaster.
City and county officials are taking the final steps to purchase the WARN system, a $205,000 computer program capable of dialing thousands of residents to warn them of a potentially dangerous situation.
Anita Patterson, director of the Montgomery City-County Emergency Management Agency, believes the system is needed.
During major disasters, Patterson said the agency will be able to contact people with either a generic recording or an updated message with information about the incident and instructions on how to respond.
And the program does not have to call every residence in Montgomery County. Patterson said WARN could highlight a specific area affected by a disaster and notify residents in that vicinity.
In an emergency situation, officials now rely on the media and public safety personnel to get the word out. Patterson said police officers and firefighters are required, in some events, to go door-to-door wearing protective equipment to alert people.
“That is not as effective or as timely as this system we’re going to be getting,” she said.
Patterson and Montgomery County commissioners were supportive of the system originally, but Mayor Bobby Bright was hesitant. After talking with the city’s new information technology director, who was in Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, Bright gave the system his approval.
“The mayor will tell you he is hopeful that we never have to use this notification technology, but he is grateful that we’re in a position to have it at our disposal if circumstances require it,” said Michael Briddell, executive assistant to the mayor.
Briddell said WARN includes a component to ensure continuity of government, which makes certain the city can continue providing services if an event affects city buildings or support systems.
The WARN system, also referred to as reverse 911, could be operating by early fall.
Funding for the system comes from a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant.