This month I would like to inform the public on a couple of messaging systems used within our county.  The first, one for the public, was implemented by Clayton County Emergency Management Coordinator Sarah Moser.

    Alert Iowa is a statewide mass notification and emergency messaging system. The system can be used by state and local authorities to quickly disseminate emergency information to residents in counties that utilize the system. The system is available, free of charge, to all counties.

 
    Alert Iowa allows citizens to sign up for the types of alerts they would like to receive.  It is recommended that if you are not directly impacted by minor river flooding do not check the box to receive those notifications.  Alert Iowa also gives residents the opportunity to distinguish if somebody in their home has any special needs, such as insulin dependent, bedridden, oxygen dependent.  This enables Emergency Management to send information directly to individuals who may be impacted.  The best way to receive messages is via text message.

    Take 60 seconds and get yourself registered for this wonderful notification system.  You may register by going to https://entry.inspironlogistics.com/clayton_ia/wens.cfm. Any questions can be directed to the Clayton County Emergency Management office.

    The second system we are working with now is called eDispatch or eDispatches.com for first responders (Fire, EMS, and police).  This system works via a phone app and sends notifications to turn your mobile device into a pager with replay, mapping/routing and live streaming audio of any emergency paging.  Basically, it is a secondary notification system that will send messages to first responders’ phones in case they did not hear a page.  By using this app you can also notify other members of a responding agency that they received the page and are enroute to the call.  Another nice thing about this is if for some reason a radio tower would go down, responders would still get their page with this app.  This system also works with our CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) software which is mapping and call information so responders know what type of call they are responding to and exactly where to respond to. 

If you have any questions, or comments, feel free to contact me anytime, e-mail me, or stop by to see me.

Thanks and be safe,

Sheriff Mike Tschirgi