From the Chronicle

Muskegon County emergency notification system set to go, but authorities urge citizens to register their cell phone numbers

Published: Sunday, March 20, 2011, 7:31 PM

By Heather Lynn Peters | The Muskegon Chronicle  

 

MUSKEGON COUNTY — Muskegon County residents now can receive emergency notifications of small or large-scale disasters in their area on their cell phones.
All they have to do is register their cell phone numbers with the FirstCall Emergency Notification Service and an automated message will alert them to Amber Alerts, water emergencies, chemical spills or other incidents that would directly affect them, authorities say.

Dan Stout

The free service offered through Muskegon Central Dispatch is something all residents should take advantage of, said Muskegon County Undersheriff Dan Stout.
“We want to get to as many people as we can by using the notification system,” Stout said.
For years, Muskegon County used an automated emergency notification system that alerted people by telephone via land lines of natural or man-made disasters that occurred in their area.
Then in 2007, a federal "homeland security" system replaced the service. Although it didn't cost the county anything, it wasn’t as effective, said David McCastle, executive director of Muskegon Central Dispatch.
Now authorities are back to the former system operated by FirstCall Emergency Notification Service that allows people to receive digital emergency notifications by cell phones or by e-mail as well as notifications over land lines.
The system went into effect in Muskegon County on Jan. 1 and will cost the county about $8,000 a year. Muskegon Central Dispatch will cover the bulk of the expense and Muskegon County will pick up about $2,000 of the annual cost, McCastle said.

TO REGISTER FOR "FIRSTCALL"

Citizens need to register their cell phone and address information with FirstCall Network Emergency Notification Service which will handle emergency notifications for Muskegon County.

Those interested should go to www.alertregistration.com or if they have no access to the Internet can contact Central Dispatch at 231-722-3524, ext. 222.

But McCastle said in order for the system to be thorough, people need to register their cell phone numbers because many people no longer use land lines.
McCastle said cell phone numbers entered into the FirstCall database won't be "shared" with telemarketers or others entities.
“This is not a published list (of cell phone numbers) so they don’t have to worry about that. FirstCall doesn’t share them,” McCastle said.
The database is able to pinpoint who to notify based on the address entered into the system. The jurisdiction that handles that disaster or emergency call would be the jurisdiction notified, McCastle said.
“It’s selective, determined by the requesting agency,” he said.
Stout said the FirstCall operation “worked very well over the years” and trusts it will continue to do so.
E-mail: hpeters@muskegonchronicle.com

Related topics: Muskegon County