Special to the Register
Gainesville —
Members of the Cooke County Office of Emergency Management will utilize the CodeRED Emergency Notification System at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, to call the entire community.
The calls will be made at 9:30 a.m. and will continue until the entire database has been attempted.
This call will give Cooke County personnel the chance to operate the system as if there has been a community-wide disaster.
The message that is being delivered directs recipients to the Cooke County website to add additional contact numbers, and it also asks that recipients spread the word by mentioning the system to family, friends and neighbors.
“All individuals and businesses should take the time to visit our website and add contact information to include cellular phones and other non-traditional phones as well as email and text addresses,” said Ray Fletcher, county emergency manager. “If your contact information is not in the database you will not receive a call when an urgent message is sent.”
Fletcher added that in particular, businesses should register, as well as individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, people who have changed their phone number recently, and those who use a cellular phone exclusively or have VoIP phones (such as Vonage) as their primary numbers.
Residents may want to program the CodeRed number into their phones so they will recognize an emergency call and not mistake it for a 1-800 solicitation call. The CodeRed number displayed will be 866-419-5000.
“We use the CodeRed system to notify residents in affected areas of emergency situations such as a hazmat or gas leak, missing person, immediate wildfire and flood danger, as well as any other incident that may require emergency warning,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher urges citizens to log onto the county website at www.co.cooke.tx.us and follow the “CodeRED” link at the top of the page. Those without Internet access may call 940-665-5435 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Required information includes a street address (physical address, no post office boxes) for location purposes, and a primary phone number. Additional phone numbers and e-mail and text addresses may also be entered.
For best results
More information about the CodeRED system is on the website, and any questions should be directed to the Cooke County Emergency Management Office at (940) 668-5400.
