Fayetteville Launches New Alert System

Free Service Will Warn Of Severe Weather, Other Emergencies

FAYETTEVILLE -- Residents, utility customers and workers in Fayetteville can sign up now for a new emergency alert system.

The system will notify enrollees about severe weather, street closures, missing persons and hazardous material spills.

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Fayetteville Alert System

To sign up for the Fayetteville Alert System, go to the city’s website, accessfayetteville.…. Residents will be asked to provide name, address, telephone number or email and select specific alerts and how they want to receive them.

Unlike a previous notification system, it's address specific.

That means if your house, school or workplace isn't in the path of a storm, you won't receive a phone call, email or text message. If there's a rash of car break-ins, only an affected neighborhood will be notified, said Police Chief Greg Tabor. And if your street is going to be closed for repaving, city officials can send you and your neighbors a message without notifying the entire city.

Participants can use the city's website to select what kind of information they want to receive and prioritize how to be contacted.

"This system notifies you in your preferred method in the order of which you'd like to be notified," said Don Marr, Mayor Lioneld Jordan's chief of staff and the city's emergency manager during a news conference Friday. "You're simply going to be in the know to the degree to which you want to be notified."

The Fayetteville Alert System won't just be used for emergencies.

According to Marr, volunteer opportunities, community events, financial reports and sports league sign-ups will be available to people who want them, along with a number of other notifications.

Alderwoman Adella Gray said it will be nice to receive a call or text message when her grandson's baseball and soccer games are canceled.

"The fact that it's so comprehensive is what makes it so outstanding," Gray said.

Marr said the system eventually could notify residents about rezonings or developments planned in their neighborhoods.

"I'm sure it will be a living, breathing list," he said.

If residents feel like they're being bombarded with messages, they can go back to the city website and uncheck the boxes they're not interested in.

Only tornado and thunderstorm warnings will be sent to everyone who enrolls.

According to Marr, the alert system, which uses Everbridge technology, cost $6,000 initially and will cost $28,000 annually for three years.

Residents who signed up for alerts through a previous GovDelivery system will have to re-enroll in the Everbridge system to continue receiving emergency alerts.

Washington County uses an emergency alert system called CodeRED. Springdale uses technology from a company called Cooper Notification.

NW News on 04/19/2014

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