City of Oxford Utilizes ALERT FM Technology
First responders, schools, businesses, and citizens to benefit
Oxford, Mississippi- February 2, 2010- City of Oxford Emergency Management Agency (OEMA) announced today that they have fully implemented and installed ALERT FM- an FM radio-based emergency notification system-as part of their emergency notification capabilities. The system was paid for using a Homeland Security grant.
This new technology will allow Jimmy Allgood, OEMA director, and his emergency management team to send targeted information to specific groups of first responders, schools, businesses, and citizens. Information might include school closings, severe weather warnings, and evacuation notices and instructions.
“We are excited about using ALERT FM to notify our first responders and citizens of severe weather and other priority situations,” Allgood said. “In fact, we recently used the system to notify our emergency management team and first responders of the severe winter weather that passed through Oxford Friday.”
To receive this information, citizens, schools, and businesses must be equipped with an ALERT FM receiver. Receivers are portable, light weight, and easy to program. Receivers are available at Sneed’s Ace Hardware or at www.alertfm.com for around $40 with no recurring fees after purchase.
ALERT FM is unique compared to other notification systems because it delivers messages using the data subcarrier of local FM radio transmission towers. The use of this pre-existing network of FM towers provides overlapping signal coverage for the area. FM stations currently participating in the ALERT FM network for the city are WMAV(90.3), WBLE(100.5), WZLQ (98.5), and WWMS (97.5). These overlapping stations ensure message distribution over a large “FM footprint” which gives OEMA the potential to reach the city’s 19,000 citizens in mere seconds.
Additionally, the OEMA system will be fully compatible with the ALERT FM systems implemented in counties around the Mid-South, Western Tennessee, and across the entire State of Mississippi. Any ALERT FM receiver is fully functional in these areas provided it is programmed for that local area.
“ALERT FM provides valuable information to citizens and business of the City of Oxford no matter if they are at home or work or traveling throughout the surrounding counties,” Jim Lowery, general manager of Global Security Systems, LLC.
For more information visit www.alertfm.com.
###
About ALERT FM
ALERT FM is owned and operated by Global Security Systems, LLC (GSS) of Jackson, Miss. It is a personal alert and messaging system that enables state and local government and private sector officials to create and send emergency information to targeted recipients. Potential information includes severe weather warnings, homeland security notices, hurricane evacuation instructions, utility notices, plant or school closings, employee notifications and traffic alerts. First responders, school officials, citizens, and businesses can receive this information based on geographic or organizational groupings through specially designed ALERT FM receivers or any device equipped with a standard FM chip. ALERT FM has been implemented at the university, state, county and multi-county levels. More than 30 million people in 13 states have access to ALERT FM technology.
Oxford announcemnt press release.pdf (73.47 kb)