FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2016
Contact: Susan Norton
Director of Communications
479-575-8330
snorton@fayetteville-ar.gov
City to Test CodeRED Emergency Notification System on Wednesday, November 16
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The City of Fayetteville will be conducting a test of its CodeRED emergency notification system on Wednesday, Nov. 16, beginning at 10 a.m. The test call is designed to test the capacity of the system and determine how long the process takes to reach everyone. Calls are expected to complete within two hours.
Due to citizen feedback, the City changed its emergency notification protocol and will now only send CodeRED notifications when there is a likely and/or imminent threat to citizen life or property. Examples of emergencies are:
- catastrophic weather conditions (such as tornado or ice storm)
- contamination of drinking water
- explosion
- terrorism
- Governor-approved state of emergency
Wednesday’s test call will use telephone numbers from the following CodeRED database lists:
- 9-1-1 database – landline-only telephone numbers obtained from 9-1-1 master telephone database.
- Proprietary CodeRED database – landline telephone numbers and some mobile phone numbers. Designed to notify as many citizens as possible of an emergency event.
- Citizen database – citizens who have signed up on the City’s Alerts and Notifications webpage to receive notifications via landline telephone numbers, mobile phones and devices, texts, and/or email.
Washington County also uses CodeRED to send alerts in non-incorporated parts of the county. To facilitate improved communication to Washington County citizens, county officials authorized the transfer of existing Fayetteville citizen subscriber information from the county’s CodeRED database to the City’s CodeRED database.
Fayetteville citizens are encouraged to sign up with CodeRED to ensure they receive emergency notifications. By signing up, citizens can choose additional ways that they can receive notifications beyond the current list of landline telephone numbers. Citizens can choose to receive notifications via multiple telephone landlines, mobile phones, text, and/or email and can also choose whether to receive Tornado Warning, Severe Thunderstorm Warning, or Flash Flood Warning notifications via CodeRED from the National Weather Service.
Smartphone and tablet users can download the “CodeRED Mobile Alert” app for free – just search for CodeRED on Google Play for Android or iTunes for IOS. When the smartphone’s location services is activated, the CodeRED app will push emergency notifications about events in the smartphone’s geographic area, including outside of Fayetteville city limits. The app is available in English, Spanish, and French languages.
CodeRED calls for Fayetteville will come from the numbers below. Make sure to save these numbers in your phone’s contacts. If you would like to hear the last emergency notification message delivered to your phone, simply call the number back.
- CodeRED Emergency Alert 866-419-5000
- CodeRED Weather Warning 800-566-9780
City officials would like to remind people that the emergency call the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 IS JUST A TEST.
In the future, the City will use CodeRED to disseminate emergency messages regarding the safety of our residents and community. There is no cost to register for CodeRED. City officials will send messages to alert you of emergency details, instructions, or precautions that you need in order to make well-informed decisions and remain safe.
Sign-up for Fayetteville’s CodeRED here: www.fayetteville-ar.gov/notifyme
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