Time is of the essence when it comes to notifying the public on emergencies and thanks to a major donation this week, that just got a lot easier along the lakeshore.
“Getting the information out in a timely matter is the key to managing all disasters,” says Liz Reimink, Mason County’s Emergency Management Coordinator.
A new CodeRed alert system is coming to Mason and Oceana Counties after Consumers Energy commits to paying the $13,000 subscription fee for the foreseeable future.
“Instead of making this a two or three-year project, Consumers came onboard and helped us get it accomplished in just a matter of months,” says Reimink.
Both DTE and Consumers Energy co-on the Ludington Pumped Storage Facility just south of town. They wanted to be able to improve their notification system in case something happened on site, so the county asked to be able to expand it and make sure this CodeRed system worked everywhere.
“Consumers energy said, ‘Yes we want to help make the community safer and more prepared,’” says Reimink.
The CodeRed system is expected to be up and running in April and will allow alerts to be sent out directly to cell phones anywhere in the area.
“Something we’re seeing is the trend of technology across the nation,” says Reimink, “We knew we needed to keep pace.”
The CodeRed system goes deeper than current warning systems and can be customized by each person for their exact community.
“Say a water main break or a boil water advisory or a no contact, no swimming type of thing,” says Reimink, “People can subscribe for what they want to know about.”
It’s the 21st century, people are mobile and flexible, their warning systems have to be compatible.
“We need to be able to make sure we have the tools and technologies to warn everybody<“ says Reimink, “Not just certain segments of the population.”
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