Centre County Government

Centre County Emergency Notification System

CodeRed

Centre County Government, through the 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Department, and in cooperation with local municipalities, has recently initiated a local Emergency Notification System (ENS) to provide telephone messages to citizens during emergency situations.

What is an Emergency Notification System?

Emergency Notification System, or ENS, are systems to provide mass notification of residents in the event of an emergency. In Centre County, we have chosen to use the Emergency Communication Network, Inc. CodeRed system as a means to notify residents by phone.

What should I do if I receive a CodeRed message?

If you receive a CodeRed message, listen carefully. The message will be brief and not repeated. Follow the instructions given. You may be directed to a commercial TV or radio station for further information. Do not hang up until you have heard the entire message. Do not call 9-1-1 for further information unless directed to do so. You will only tie up the emergency lines.

What does a CodeRed message sound like?

The message is normally recorded by a 9-1-1 staff person. It is a true recorded message and not computer generated. The message will always begin with a statement "This is an emergency message for [geographic area] from the Centre County 9-1-1 Emergency Notification System." The text of the message and further instructions would follow. The message will generally be brief and if further instructions are necessary, you may be directed to turn to a Commercial radio or TV station.

How does CodeRed work?

CodeRed is a telephone notification system that can dial up to 60,000 phones an hour and deliver a recorded message. In the 9-1-1 Center, Telecommunicators can use a digital map online to define an area that requires a message and CodeRed will automatically target all of the phone numbers in that defined area for the emergency message. When the Telecommunicator initiates the notification, the recorded message is "Blasted" to all of the phones in a defined area in a very brief period of time. Busy numbers will be redialed a preset number of times. CodeRed also has the ability to store predefined lists of names and phone numbers that can be activated for a specific notification.

How does CodeRed determine what phone number to dial?

Emergency Communications Network, the developers of the CodeRed system, use a number of commercially available phone number databases. These databases do not, however, include all phone numbers. Unlisted numbers and numbers not included in the most recent database would not be called. PA State Legislation was recently passed to allow the use of the confidential 9-1-1 telephone number database for Emergency ENS calls. As soon as the rules and regulations governing that use are determined, Centre County will use 9-1-1 data for Emergency notifications.

Does CodeRed dial Cellular phones?

Cellular phone numbers do not exist in the phone books that CodeRed uses to dial phones in a geographic area. Cellular phones, and the new Voice over Internet Phones (VoIP), operate in a different environment and cannot be easily called by CodeRed. You need to be aware that if you do not have a standard wire line phone, you will not receive a warning, unless you register your phone number with the form provided. Pay particular attention to other warning systems.

What are some of the uses for CodeRed?

The primary use of CodeRed is to notify county residents of an immediate emergency. It can be used to define an area for evacuation or "Shelter in place" notifications for incidents such as a hazardous material spill or major gas leak. It can also be used to direct residents to a specific TV or Radio station for further important details and instructions. It may alert residents to shelters activated in municipalities during weather or power emergencies. It may be used to alert residents of wildfires approaching their area. CodeRed can also be used to alert a neighborhood to watch for a lost child, an impaired individual who has walked away, or a dangerous individual that may be in the area. CodeRed can also be used for non-emergency or urgent messages. Using the list feature, municipalities may wish to use it to notify on-call employees very quickly and the police departments can use it to notify specialized officer teams or notify officers in case of a large scale emergency. The 9-1-1 center can create lists of emergency responders and use CodeRed as a backup to the normal emergency notification process.

Who pays for CodeRed?

The Centre County Commissioners decided the easiest means of managing the cost for CodeRed notifications would be for a single agency to be responsible. The Commissioners decided that the County would be the contracting agency and that the County would assume the cost for emergency notifications. Any authorized agency is welcome to use CodeRed for non-emergency notifications and would reimburse the County for the cost of the activation.

Is CodeRed the only means of notification?

No! No Emergency Notification System is 100% reliable. People do not always hear TV and radio messages, especially at night. Sirens have a limited range and give little information. Door-to-door or mobile loudspeaker notifications are time-consuming and inefficient. CodeRed cannot reach everyone and is only a part of the notification process. It gives emergency managers another tool to use to alert the public. Residents are still encouraged to listen to warnings issued through the TV and radio media and NOAA weather radios.

Is CodeRed appropriate for all emergency notifications?

No. CodeRed is only one of the many tools and has its limitations. It does take some time to set up a CodeRed notification and make the calls. Threats in progress, such as a tornado that was just spotted, would not give emergency managers enough time to make a CodeRed notification. Emergencies that occur in a very brief time frame are not good candidates for a CodeRed type of notification. Other options may be more appropriate.