CodeRed to get test Friday

RBC I The Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s office will test its emergency notification system, CodeRed, before 8 p.m. on Friday. The countywide system has been in place for almost a year and the communication center has been doing testing of the system and will test the full function of the system in a countywide alert.
Rio Blanco County contracted last year with Emergency Communications Network to license its CodeRED high-speed notification solution. The CodeRED system provides Meeker and Rangely officials the ability to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire county.
John Hutchins, Rio Blanco County emergency coordinator, cautioned such systems are only as good as the telephone number database supporting them. “If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called,” he said.
One of the reasons the CodeRED system was selected is it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the system’s database, this is an extremely important feature.
“No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included,” Hutchins said, urging individuals and businesses to log onto the county website, www.co.rio-blanco.co.us, go to the sheriff’s page and follow the link to the “CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment” page. Those without Internet access may call the Rio Blanco Communications Center at 878-9620 to supply information over the phone. Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number. Additional phone numbers can be entered as well.
All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the past year, and those who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.
Hutchins said, “CodeRED allows geographically based delivery, which means street addresses are required to ensure emergency notification calls are received by the proper individuals in a given situation. The system works for cell phones too, but we need to have an associated street address to provide relevant messages.
“CodeRED gives those who want to be included an easy and secure method for inputting information. The data collected will only be used for emergency notification purposes,” Hutchins said.
Questions should be directed to the Rio Blanco Communications Center at 878-9620.