Town poised to begin reverse 911 alert system

NORTH CANAAN — The first step in a plan to fine-tune mass communication in North Canaan was scheduled to take place last week, before this newspaper’s press time.

Residential and business phone numbers listed on the 911 system were to be called in order to gather data for the latest in emergency notification:reverse 911.

With this system, the community (or selected portions of it) can be directly alerted as necessary in what is basically an update of the emergency broadcast system. But, instead of relying on television or radio alerts, which require that people be tuned in, those potentially affected would get a phone call and/or an e-mail.

First Selectman Douglas Humes said the system could be used by the fire, ambulance, school or selectmen’s office. The whole town, or specific groups identified by geography or other criteria, could be targeted.

“For instance, if the school had to close,� Humes said, “all parents would be immediately notified, told what is going on and what they should do, or not do. We wouldn’t have the kind of situation we had a while back, when people heard about a bomb scare on scanners and everyone came to the school trying to get their kids.�

The map- and list-based communications system has been around for more than 20 years. It is used extensively in South America. In the U.S., it made the news recently during California wildfires when 513,000 San Diego residents were notified at once of an evacuation order.

It could provide weather, haz mat and road closure alerts, mobilize a community quickly to be on the lookout for a missing child, target those in flood-prone areas, provide wellness checks on homebound residents and summon emergency staffing for hospitals, as well as provide updates on situations.

Humes noted that it can also be used for announcements for emergency volunteers that are more discreet and won’t tie up emergency channels.