No More Reverse 911
City to Replace Inefficient Reverse 911 System with New Service
The city’s new emergency notification system will be able to send out emails and text messages in addition to phone calls.
– Allison Goldsberry
After May’s emergency boil water order revealed the weaknesses of the city’s current reverse 911 notification system, Medford is finally moving onto something more reliable.
Blackboard, the same company that runs the Medford Public Schools’ Connect-Ed notification system, will also provide a similar service through the Medford Police Department called Connect-CTY.
According to Medford Police Captain Barry Clemente, during the boil water order, Medford’s reverse 911 system successfully delivered only 9,500 out of the 20,000 phone calls that were placed to notify people of the emergency. Captain Clemente said it would take him two days with the current system to notify the entire city of an emergency, while the new technology could do it within twenty minutes.
The lack of notification left many residents angry and fearful of receiving important information during future emergencies.
“People who didn’t get a call were upset…what does it mean for the future? Will they know about the next emergency?” Said City Councilor Breanna Lungo-Koehn.
“That water boil situation made it real evident [the need for a new system],” said Capt. Clemente.
Clemente said the current reverse 911 system slows down when it reaches an answering machine, which would not happen with Connect-CTY.
Dan Peterson, a Connect-CTY representative, said the system is capable of placing over three million sixty-second phone calls in one hour and can send out email and text message alerts in addition to phone calls.
The new system can also target certain audiences based upon a grouping in the database (for example, senior citizens) or geography (such as a certain neighborhood).
Peterson said system will start by collecting every publicly available phone number and residents will be able to go online to enter their preferred contact information.
Capt. Clemente said he was impressed with Connect-CTY and that it far surpassed other systems he has seen. He said it could be used for everything from alerting residents of emergencies to announcing community meetings to notifying certain neighborhoods about road closings and construction.
In addition, the system can be set up to automatically notify residents of impending dangerous weather, such as severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings.
The Medford City Council was supportive of the new service, which will cost about $40,000 per year.
“I certainly think that this is something that shouldn’t wait…Emergencies can strike at any time,” said City Councilor Paul Camuso.