Maricopa County is asking the growing number of residents who've cut their landlines in favor of a cell phone to sign up for Reverse 911, which will allow them to be notified of emergencies in their neighborhood.
Cell phone owners couldn't sign up for the service until about a year ago, but few residents have subscribed to 911alertsyou.com since the change.
Only about 8,700 cell phone users have signed up, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments. This is a concern for public safety agencies, as about 30 percent of county residents only use a cell phone, and another 20 percent receive most calls on their mobile phone.
"When emergencies happen in a specific neighborhood, public safety agencies can use the 911 database to call residents and let them know the nature of the emergency and what to do. But residents who have cell phones are not automatically contacted," said Liz Graber, Phoenix's 911 administrator. "Instead, they must go online and register their cell phone to receive such emergency notifications."
Reverse 911 was launched in the county in 2004. It uses the 911 database to contact homes or businesses in a specific geographical area during an emergency. The calls have been used for police and fire incidents. Any public safety agency in the county has access to Reverse 911, but it can only be activated for defined emergencies such as fires, public safety threats, flash floods, hazardous material spills, police incidents, and endangered elderly/youth.
It had previously been limited to notify landlines in the database. In 2010, the database was changed so cell phone owners could register a cell phone, while using the address of their choice. This allows cell phone users to receive the warnings that only landline users were able to get previously.
Typically, cell phone users will use a home address. But they can also use a business address or another location. Residents can register to receive notifications for the address of a business or other location, as long as they use a separate email address when signing up.
To register, visit www.911alertsyou.com.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
az2008 posted at 6:22 pm on Mon, Jan 30, 2012.
They probably aren't getting the registrations they desire because *it doesn't work*. I just tried to register and it said it couldn't find my location. I typed it the same way I do when I use Google Maps (for directions, etc.).