Reverse 9-1-1 Debuts in Christian County

Christian County launches a $70,000 system today that is intended to improve safety for residents there.

It's a reverse 9-1-1 program that is complex in nature, but the results are simple; get the word of warning out to as many people as possible.

The reverse 9-1-1 program is a mass phone call system that alerts people about everything from tornado warnings to hazardous materials spills.  

Phil Amtower, director of Christian County Emergency Management, says he can now target certain communities or geographic areas with a specific list.  

Dispatchers need only highlight an area on a computerized map, and a phone message will be sent to everyone
in that region.

The Christian County Sheriff's department will also have access to the system, for use when trying to locate missing people, or even to warn an area of a burglar on the loose.

Amtower says reverse 9-1-1 is a new and vital way to contact the community quickly.  "We use this in conjunction with the weather alert radios. People still need to have them and tornado sirens.  All these things together hopefully will give us a greater saturation on our warning process."


Amtower says the system can also alert specific groups like Citizen Corp volunteers or CERT team members for more specialized responses.