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In an emergency, when seconds count, Eureka residents now have the option of an earlier warning.
The city recently contracted with CodeRED Emergency Notification System, a high-speed telephone communications system that allows city officials to send a message to residents alerting them to an emergency situation.
Eureka is the first city in St. Louis County to make use of the system.
In Franklin County, Union was the first to contract with CodeRED. Other cities in Franklin County, including Pacific, are looking at similar notification systems.
Eureka police successfully used the system for the first time last week, to notify residents of a potentially threatening storm.
"The system can call up to 50,000 numbers per hour," Police Chief Mike Wiegand said. "It's a great tool for the city and a valuable service to our residents and businesses. We can not only notify people about severe weather incidents such as floods or storms, but any other emergency situation that would require immediate action."
Wiegand said CodeRED could be used in the event of boil-water notices, missing children, evacuations and evacuation routes, fires, floods, bomb threats, hostage situations, hazardous material spills, gas leaks or any other situation that could pose an immediate threat to health and safety.
The system also could be used to notify Community Emergency Response Team volunteers, and direct them to areas of the city in need of their help, he said.
CERT volunteers assist emergency response personnel during crisis situations.
City officials record the message and then CodeRED delivers it to a person or answering machine either citywide or to an affected area of the city specified by officials.
For example, in the event of severe weather, the system would contact only residents and businesses in the direct path of the storm.
CodeRED weather warnings are sent a few minutes in advance of the activation of warning sirens, and weather radio or media alerts. Calls to affected residents begin five seconds after the National Weather Service issues a severe weather alert.
The service is available only to residents and businesses within the city limits.
Aldermen recently agreed to a yearlong contract with CodeRED at a cost of $11,200. Under that contract, the city gets 18,500 minutes of notifications.
Wiegand said with Eureka's population of a little more than 10,000 residents, that cost breaks down to just over $1 per person.
Eureka residents or businesses must register if they want to receive CodeRED alerts.
You can contact Danette Thompson at dthompson@yourjournal.com.
How to register for CodeRED
The CodeRED emergency notification service is available to Eureka residents and businesses only.
To register, go to the city's Web site at www.eureka.mo.us and click on the CodeRED icon.
Residents without Internet access can visit any public library to use a computer for registration, or call the Eureka Police Department at (636) 938-6600, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
You will need to provide the following information when registering: first and last names, physical address (no post office boxes), city, state, ZIP code and primary telephone number.
An alternative telephone number, such as a cell phone number, also can be entered. The system works with cell phone numbers but requires a Eureka street address.
In registering, there is a TDD-only option for hearing-impaired residents. Messages delivered to phone numbers marked TDD only will be delivered in a TDD/TTY format.
Residents who have a listed land line in Eureka already are registered for the CodeRED weather alert. Registration is required to receive other alerts.
Businesses, TDD users, residents who have moved or changed their telephone numbers within the last 12 months, people with unlisted telephone numbers, and cell phone users are not automatically registered for the weather or other alerts.
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