By Jim Kalvelage
The Ruidoso News
LINCOLN COUNTY, N.M. — Lincoln County’s new CodeRED Emergency Notification System, a high speed telephone communications service for emergency notifications, was used during the White Fire to notify some of the danger.
But at least one in the path of the fire on April 3 said they were not called.
“Their database still had some of these numbers listed as (area code) 505, so we went through there and changed all that,” said Travis Atwell, director of the Lincoln County Office of Emergency Services. “You know how the good old government decides ‘Let’s change area codes’ and they’re still trying to catch up on it.”
CodeRED can call multiple phone numbers is short order to deliver a message. It can ring all the numbers in its database or selected locations or numbers.
“All individuals and businesses should take the time to visit our website and add contact information to include cellular phones and other non-traditional phones as well as email and text addresses,” Atwell said.
“If your contact information is not in the database you will not receive a call when an urgent message is sent.”
Atwell urged businesses, those with unlisted phone numbers, those who recently change their phone numbers, and those who use a cellular exclusively or have VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) as their primary phone numbers, to input their information by going online at www.lincolncountynm.net .
He also recommended that everyone go to the website and review their information.
“Go in there, plug in your name, your address, and all your contact information. That way it’s all verified. If you’ve got a cell phone number and you want to be called on the cell phone or if you’ve got an email address, or whatever.”
Atwell said the biggest issue is VoIP through companies such as Vonage.
“Their info is not in the database. Some of Mescalero Apache Telephone Telecom (another VoIP provider) is in there, some is not. That’s why we’re urging everybody to go in there and update your information.”
The county will test the CodeRED’s notification system on April 19 to call its entire database. The planned morning calls will provide Lincoln County personnel with a chance to operate the system as if there had been a community-wide disaster.
The system can dial the entire county within minutes to deliver a recorded message from the Emergency Services Office or the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
The message will play when answered by a live person or an answering machine.
The system makes three attempts to connect to each number. Contact information in the database will remain confidential and will only be used for critical communications.
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