WORLAND – On Tuesday, Washakie County Emergency Management Director Jeff Schweighart briefed the Washakie County Commission on the opportunity to trial test a new advance warning system for the county, to work alongside the current Rapid Notify system used by county dispatch.

Covered by a grant from the state, the $4,400 subscription package would enable residents to be notified, via cell phone application, of weather, chemical, police, fire, Homeland Security and emergency Warning System emergencies, with a feature that can target residents in a specific area for evacuation.

“This a unique opportunity for Washakie County to grow and enhance our emergency communication inefficiencies, expanding public health, fire, hazmat and Homeland Security capabilities should the need arise for mass notification and public alerts,” said Schweighart. “We try to optimize our availability and keep upgraded, or in sync with the ever-changing technology, whenever available.”

The CodeRed Mobile Alert app, developed by OnSolve a mass notification system provider, is designed to keep subscribers alert and informed anywhere in the United States.

The CodeRed Mobile Alert app is “geo-aware” and will send you notifications based on your location. If you travel through a CodeRed client-community, you’ll get alerts from that area even if you are not a resident.

For instance, as pointed out by Schweighart, if there is an emergency in Ten Sleep that requires evacuation or a “shelter-in-place” order, people in that area will receive the information, while not required for surrounding areas. The same would apply for residents of Worland, were there a Worland-specific emergency.

Also, once subscribed, if you are travelling outside Washakie County anywhere in the United States, CodeRed will notify you of local emergencies or travel warnings.

According to CodeRed, you don’t need to live in a CodeRED client-community to use the app or receive alerts and the company has a more than a decade-long partnership with the agency A Child Is Missing (ACIM), who launches notifications for missing children and at risk adults all over the country. So, even if your city doesn’t currently utilize CodeRED for their emergency notification system, you may receive ACIM notifications if there is a missing child in your area.

Approved by the commission on Tuesday, the program will be ready for community use within the next month, said Schweighart. Instructions for use of CodeRed will be published on the county;s Homeland Security website, located at http://www.washakiecounty.net/homeland-security.

Currently, emergency alert notifications are sent through Rapid Notify to individual email, phone and text message accounts, to alert emergency personnel of an event, or to instruct residents of specific areas to avoid during potentially life-threatening situations.

The system can alert subscribers through a variety of services, from Washakie County Dispatch, to the Federal Aviation Administration, National Weather Service and Department of Homeland Security.

Subscribers can go to the http://www.washakiecounty.net/rapid-notify to sign up for the service, and be alerted of major events such as tornadoes, earthquakes, major fires and emergency situations requiring state and national response.