Reverse 9-1-1 System Working Well: Departments

By KIRK LANG
Article Last Updated: 02/20/2008 09:30:23 AM EST

Gone are the days when it was just the public dialing 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Now it also works the other way around.

Many of Fairfield's residents already have received emergency calls related to issues in their neighborhoods since a 9-1-1 notification system went online in October. Those who haven't been called yet could find themselves fielding a call, or listening to a voicemail, in the near future, if there is a fire in their area, a storm event, a criminal on the loose or a nearby hazardous materials leak.

The Reverse 9-1-1 notification system can also notify residents of, among other things, a flood, impending weather conditions and road blockages. The Police Department has even used the system to warn Stratfield area residents of a rash of thefts from motor vehicles. That recorded message included telling residents to report anything suspicious, according to Police Chief David Peck.

Deputy Fire Chief Arthur Reid noted that the system can interface with the town's GIS or geographic information system mapping technologies.

"We can pinpoint where the flood zones are in town," said Reid. "If we know we're going to have a flood 4 feet above the high-tide level, for example, through the town's GIS, we can specifically pinpoint which streets would be affected and we can pinpoint those addresses to call on the Reverse 9-1-1." The system can also contact specific sub-groups, according to Peck, such as banks.

The Reverse 9-1-1 system was largely paid for by "state homeland security grant funds," according to Reid. The price tag was $45,482 but the grants covered "$41,000 and change."

Because the system can target a precise geographic area, residents don't have to worry about getting annoying calls regarding events unrelated to their neighborhoods. The Reverse 9-1-1 system contains only published telephone numbers. Residents who have an unlisted or unpublished number and want to be contacted in the event of an emergency can fill out an online registration form, which is available at www.fpdct.com/reverse911.htm . Registration forms also are available at the Police and Fire Headquarters, both on Reef Road.

While people at their homes are automatically notified of an emergency provided their numbers are published in the telephone book the same cannot be said of people heading home from work, for example. However, if residents would like to be contacted via their cell phone, they can include their cell number on the application form.

"Informing the public as to what's going on always makes for a more organized situation," said Reid. "It eases a lot of anxiety, rather than people seeing something and not knowing what's going on."

Reid said the system can also be used to inform the public of missing children, homeland security alerts and emergency evacuations. Reid said if residents know why a road in their neighborhood, or the road on which they live, is closed off, it puts people's minds "at ease."

Peck said the system could have been used when Bridgeport police officers followed a bank robbery suspect into Fairfield some months back. However, the system was new at the time and was not used in that case.

"It has the ability to notify residents of a potential problem in their neighborhood," said Peck. The system was, in fact, used, by the police in the last few months to warn residents of expected flooding in the beach area. Residents were forewarned to move their vehicles before they were damaged. The Police Department also used the system to put residents at ease regarding a power outage in the Black Rock Turnpike area a couple of months back. Residents with land-line phones were told the power would be out for about 10 hours.

Reid and Peck both said the system only will be used for real emergencies.

"We are very careful not to overuse the system," said Peck. "Otherwise, it becomes a case of the 'boy who cried wolf.'"

Peck said the "feedback" to the Reverse 9-1-1 system has been "outstanding." Reid added that the Fire Department received thank-yous from two cell phone users who said it was comforting to have the prior notification of what was going on in their neighborhood.

One must be a resident to be added to the Fairfield Reverse 9-1-1 system. Also, Reverse 9-1-1 will not work with telephone lines that have call-screening features. For example, if your telephone line requires an individual to identify themselves through a recorded message before the call is accepted, the Reverse 9-1-1 system will not work. The system is designed to play the recorded message upon voice activation, such as an answering machine recording or a person saying "hello."