The Shadow
LOW MOOR - Emergency management officials in Alleghany County and the Covington are taking several steps to improve communications with local residents, especially in situations when public safety may be at risk.
Among the changes, are implementation of the FastCommand digital disaster response system from Alabama-based FastHealth Corporation and replacing the current CodeRed emergency notification system with one provided by Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company.
Both systems are scheduled to go on line early this year.
“We are excited about the deployment of the FastCommand and Cassidian Communications notification solutions,” said Ryan Muterspaugh, Alleghany Co-unty director of public safety.
“They will give us much more functionality and multiple platforms to disseminate pertinent information quickly and efficiently throughout our area.”
Utilized during recent, high- profile events, such as the shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., FastCommand is a centralized service that employs “deflection” technology to push proactive alerts and warnings out via the Internet.
Use of the system will allow public safety operations in Alleghany County and Covington to intercept and control the emergency administration of their websites to disseminate information. Localized institutions such as schools, health care facilities, government agencies and private businesses wishing to team with authorities in emergencies can opt to be included in the notifications.
Potential applications for the FastCommand system within Alleghany Highlands include inclement weather, missing persons and hazardous materials incidents.
FastCommand also provides capacity for both the organization and coordination of response and relief efforts.
“Public access to online information continues to grow, making emergency communication via IP (Internet Protocol) highly advantageous for everyone,” said Anthony Foote, new business consultant for FastHealth Corporation.
“Not only is it readily available for mass dissemination, both geographically targeted or broad-range, it is easily accessible from any Internet-enabled device, such as computer, smart phone or tablet, whether people are at home, school, work or on the go,” he said.
Alleghany County and Covington will use The Communicator!
NXT and GeoCast Web solutions of Cassidian Communications for rapid notification of emergency response teams, volunteers and the community at large.
Voice and text messages sent by these communications platforms are meant to provide recipients event-specific information and/or potentially life-saving instruction by phone, email and SMS. Alleghany residents with unpublished or cell numbers who want to receive the alerts will soon be able to register online through the county’s website.
Muterspaugh said more details will be released to the public after the portal is up and running.
“We are honored to support the public safety mission of Alleghany County and the city of Covington with FastHealth,” said Mike Adams, product area business manager for Cassidian Communications. “Together, these systems help ensure the safety and security of local residents by providing multiple distribution channels for essential information in times of crisis.”
Integration between the FastCommand digital disaster response system and The Communicator! NXT notification solution is planned for early 2012.
Integration will bring the two technologies together under a single user interface, making system activation by Alleghany County and Covington officials easier and emergency communication with local residents faster.
“We are asking the public to work with us as we set up and initialize this project,” Muterspaugh said.
“Be mindful that everyone who registered for the CodeRed system will need to re-register to receive alerts from the Cassidian Communications systems. Published home phone numbers will be included in the database at the time of set up. Call phone numbers will not, so it is imperative for people who rely on wireless services to sign up to receive alerts. More information will be forthcoming very soon, letting residents know when and how they can begin registering for the new emergency notification system,” Muterspaugh said in conclusion.
