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GFFR stresses importance of CodeRED alert

Posted at 9:22 AM, Apr 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-10 12:03:20-04

Great Falls fire officials are encouraging residents to sign up for CodeRED after last month’s explosion and fire at Calumet Refinery.

Great Falls Fire Rescue Chief Steve Hester said Calumet staff asked him how they notify the public about incidents or disasters. Hester told them about CodeRED.

“When Calumet was doing the build out with their new hydrogen plants, that’s when we started looking at a way to notify the community around the refinery,” Hester said.

CodeRED has been in place in Cascade County for five years. It is an emergency notification service that allows officials to notify residents and businesses by telephone, cell phone, text message, email and social media.

Hester said the dispatch center helps them send out CodeRED alerts.

“I think it goes further than that. We live in wildland area. If we need people to evacuate and you had CodeRED on your phone that says it is time to get out of here, they would know it,” he said.

Hester added they can also use CodeRED to tell people to shelter in place. In those instances, people need to get inside, find a safe spot, and wait there.

You can sign up or read more about CodeRED here.