▼

Public Safety - CodeRED Notifications

Show All Answers

1. Why is Straight Talk not listed as a service provider for the CodeRED alert?

Straight Talk is owned by TracPhone. TracPhone piggybacks off of the major carries (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint). In order to find out which provider you have, you can try a few different things:

• Send a text to your email address to see what text address comes through as the sender. For example, "3863165217@vtext.com" is Verizon.
• Turn phone off and then back on to see which provider is listed as the phone loads up.
• Take the back off of the phone; sometimes the provider is listed by the battery or sim card.

2. What is CodeRED, and why is it important to me?

CodeRED is an emergency notification service that allows emergency officials to notify residents and businesses regarding time-sensitive general and emergency notifications by:]

• Cell phone
• Email
• Social media
• Telephone
• Text message

Only authorized officials have access to send notifications with the CodeRED system.

3. When will CodeRED be used?

Any emergency notification regarding the safety, property, or welfare of the community may be sent using the CodeRED system. These may include:

• Boil water advisories
• Evacuation notices
• Missing children or at-risk person's alerts
• Notifications of hazardous traffic or road conditions

In addition, all subscribers have the option to opt in to non-emergency community alerts.

4. How does CodeRED work?

CodeRED delivers the notification through a high-speed telephone calling system to a phone number on the CodeRED database. County staff will access CodeRED via a secure portal on the web. A "call area" will be marked identifying street addresses. Telephone numbers will be matched up electronically to these addresses through the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). A voice and/or text message will be sent out via the telephone with information about the incident and possibly instructions for action to be taken.

5. Does the CodeRED system replace other systems that have been used to provide time-sensitive information to residents?

This system is an enhancement to existing means of communication and is meant to supplement current or procedures used for mass notification. In addition to CodeRED, the County will still provide information to local TV, radio, and newspapers, as well as Facebook and Twitter accounts.

6. Does the CodeRED system already have my telephone number, or do I need to sign up to receive CodeRED notifications?

Initially, all phone numbers listed in the "white pages" are entered by the County into the CodeRED system. However, this database does not include cell phone numbers or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone (internet calling) type numbers. No resident should assume that their information is in the system. Therefore we urge all persons living or working in Franklin County to enter their phone numbers into the CodeRED system, along with their home or work address. In this way everyone can quickly receive CodeRED emergency notices from the County. 

Enroll your contact information into the CodeRed system.

7. I have a business located in Franklin County. Can I arrange to have CodeRED messages sent to my business?

Yes. Fill out the CodeRED Registration Form, but be sure to select the "This address is business" option. Please note that emergency calls can only be delivered to a direct dial number. Automated attendants and phone trees will disrupt the process and the calls will not be delivered. Businesses should register their main number and establish a procedure for distributing the CodeRED notification to their workforce.

8. What if I want to register additional numbers for my address?

After you submit the initial registration form, you may start the registration process again and submit more numbers for the same address.

9. Is my personal information protected?

CodeRED is a service of Emergency Communications Network which takes security and privacy concerns very seriously. They will not sell, trade, lease, or loan any citizen supplied data to third parties. Review the CodeRED Privacy Policy.

10. How will I recognize a CodeRED notification?

A CodeRED Emergency notification will have a caller ID of 866-419-5000 and will show up as "EMERGENCY COMM". A CodeRED General notification will have a caller ID 855-969-4636 and will show up as "ECN COMMUNITY". It is highly recommended you program both numbers in your cell phone as a "new contact" and use "CodeRED Emergency" and "CodeRED General" as the contact name. If you need to replay the emergency notification again, simply dial the number, and you will be able to hear the notification again.

11. What should I do if I receive a CodeRED notification?

If you receive a CodeRED notification:

1. Listen carefully to the entire notification. 
2. You will have the option to repeat the notification by pressing any key. 
3. Follow the instructions of County Officials.
4. Do not call 911 or any other Franklin County phone number for further information unless directed to do so, or if you need immediate aid from the Police or Fire Department (you will only tie up emergency lines).

12. I have a cordless phone, and it does not work when the power goes out. How will the system be able to contact me?

Make sure you have at least one working corded telephone, and be sure to turn the ringer on. The CodeRED signup form allows you to indicate both a primary and alternate phone number. Cell phone and/or work phone numbers can be entered as alternate phone numbers. Both primary and alternate phone numbers will be contacted when a notification is sent.

13. Will the CodeRED system leave a message on an answering machine?

Yes, the CodeRED system will leave a message on a machine or on voicemail. The CodeRED system will leave the entire message in one pass.

14. I received an emergency message that went to my home phone voicemail. Only part of the message recorded. Why does this happen, and what should I do?

The emergency message delivery depends on how the resident's voicemail is set up. If the voicemail starts with a "Hi" and then a pause, the system will think someone has answered live and start playing the message. The good news is, the resident can always play back the message in its entirety by calling number listed on the caller ID to replay the message.

15. What happens if the line is busy?

If the line is busy, CodeRED will try two more times to connect.

16. What circumstances might prevent a notification from being delivered to me?

Franklin County will receive a report of undelivered calls, and can instruct the CodeRED system to begin another round of calls to busy numbers. It is best to have an alternate phone number in the calling database for these situations.

17. Will I receive all notifications sent by the County?

If your area of the community is not be affected by the incident, the County may elect to target the notification to the specific area where the emergency is going on. In this case, you won't receive a call, even if it's only a block away. This is an effort to ensure that only residents and businesses that need to take action receive notifications. You will need to opt in to receive non-emergency community notification using the CodeRED Web Portal.

18. How can I make sure I receive a CodeRED notification if telephone systems are overloaded?

We recommend that you register a cell phone number which can receive text notifications into the system. During an emergency when many people are trying to utilize their phones, text notifications are much more likely to go through than a voice call.

19. How do I remove my number from CodeRED?

We highly discourage residents or businesses from unsubscribing from CodeRED, as they will not receive critical emergency notifications. However, if you are in our database, and you do not want to be in our database and be contacted by CodeRED, you must fill out a Do Not Call Form. Once you submit the form, it will then be forwarded to CodeRED for processing. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for your number to be removed from our database.