The Wetzel County Commission has recently opened an account with Emergency Communications Network, providers of the CodeRED high-speed notification solution, to provide the CodeRED Weather Warning service for the community. If you are currently in the database, you will be receiving a test call scheduled for Friday, Aug. 9, at approximately 1 p.m.

CodeRED Weather Warning is an opt-in only weather warning product that taps into the National Weather Service’s Storm Based Warnings. CodeRED Weather Warning automatically alerts affected citizens in the path of severe weather just moments after a warning has been issued. Calls are delivered so quickly they often arrive prior to any other public notifications, usually before television or weather radio broadcasts are aired, which will provide Wetzel County extra time to prepare. Based on the National Weather Service’s polygon methodology, only citizens in the path of projected weather are contacted.

When residents enroll to receive CodeRED Weather Warning notifications, they can select the types of alerts they would like to receive, that include severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, and flash flood warnings.

This update will allow community members to easily identify calls coming through the systems. Message recipient’s Caller ID will read Emergency Communications Network or 866-419-5000 for CodeRED calls. And for CodeRED Weather Warning calls, either Emergency Communications Network or the number 800-566-9780 will appear on Caller ID displays. It is encouraged that both telephone numbers are saved in citizen’s contacts on their cell phones for easy recognition.

Most relevant for our citizens, says Ed Sapp, director of Emergency Management, “Residents can simply dial the number displayed on their Caller ID to hear the last message delivered. This will greatly reduce the number of inbound inquiries handled by our office so we can focus on handling 911 calls to those citizens who need immediate help.”

The CodeRED system provides Wetzel County officials the ability to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire county. If you are not sure that you are included in the database, simply go to the Wetzel County website, wetzelwv.com, and follow the link to the “CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment” page. It is recommended that all businesses 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. Those without Internet access may call the Wetzel County Office of Emergency Management at 304-455-6960, Monday through Friday, (9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) to supply their information over the phone.

Headquartered in Ormond Beach, Fla., Emergency Communications Network, LLC (ECN) has pioneered high-speed emergency notification services capable of reaching millions of citizens in minutes. ECN’s sophisticated network supports a web-based product suite featuring four major services: CodeRED which enables local government officials to communicate time-sensitive, personalized messages via voice, email, and text messaging; CodeRED Weather Warning which provides automated alerts to citizens in the path of severe weather just moments after a warning has been issued by the National Weather Service; My Daily Call for scheduling calls to check on at-risk individuals, including the elderly, infirm, and latchkey kids; and CodeRED for use by school systems to improve communications with their communities. To learn more, visit www.ecnetwork.com.