Emergency Communications Network, the company that developed the CodeRed Emergency 
Notification system for national use, has launched a mobile application to alert residents to messages from emergency officials.

Nash County authorities are encouraging residents to download the application for more access to alerts about severe storms, crime alerts and even missing persons.

“I’ve had the app on my Droid phone for about a month, and I’ve received three alerts, and one was on the day I loaded it,” Nash County Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Brent Fisher said. “I hadn’t been in Chatham County for more than five or 10 minutes when I got an alert from the Sheriff’s Office about a break-in suspect they were looking for.”

Fisher said those on-the-go alerts exemplify the advantage of the application.

Nash County officials can send notifications to every home phone number in a geographic area as well as any numbers residents in that area have requested to be added to the system like cell phones. Now residents with the application can get notifications relative to where they are working or shopping or visiting friends.

“Travelers passing through with the application can get any alert we issue for the area they are in,” Fisher said. “If you leave your home to go shopping and something happens that forces an evacuation near that shopping center, you will be alerted.”

An add-on weather warning application is available for $4.99 a year, so users can receive notifications from the National Weather Service. Those without the add-on still will receive weather warnings from local officials.

“Time is of the essence in 
emergency situations, so having this service and this app available will really enhance our ability to inform the citizens of this county in a timely manner,” Fisher said. “This will allow us to get alerts out quickly as possible and to as many people as possible.”

To sign up for Nash County CodeRed alerts, go to www.co.nash.nc.us/Departments/EmergencyServices/DivisionofCommunications...

More information on the CodeRed Mobile Alert App is available at www.ecnetwork.com.