Connect-CTY Recommended as Primary Emergency Contact Method

The City of Baytown is reminding citizens to register with Connect-CTY – the City’s electronic notification system capable of sending thousands of voice, text and email messages to the public within minutes.  Connect-CTY is the system designed to replace the City’s aging chemical emergency siren system as the primary notification system to distribute emergency information about chemical hazards to residents.

 In recent months, the 14 City-owned chemical emergency sirens have been taken out of service because they are obsolete and replacement parts have become difficult to obtain. In the 2007 Bond Election, voters approved the purchase of new sirens, which are expected to be in place and functional in approximately three months.

 “We are working in coordination with our plants to ensure that all of the warning sirens are compatible in operations to provide the greatest degree of effectiveness,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Vola. “But the message we really want to get out to people is that the sirens are our secondary notification system. With modern building construction; air conditioning, insulation, double-paned windows, and the appliances and conveniences in our homes – it virtually eliminates the ability to hear those sirens inside homes and offices.”

 Vola added that the best way for residents to get emergency information is to register to receive information through Connect-CTY. Registration is free and can be accomplished online at www.baytown.org or by calling the City’s Infoline at 281-420-5311. Individuals and businesses can register home and cell phones for voice and text messages, and email addresses to receive notification via computer or phone.

Outdoor sirens are 1930’s era technology that has significantly declined in effectiveness as construction has evolved to produce buildings which are more energy efficient and contain modern communications technology.  Sirens were used to great effect during World War II to warn against air raid threats, but modern technology has replaced them with more thorough methods of mass communication. In order for emergency alerts to be heard in homes, businesses, and cars; emergency management officials have to generate those warnings using the very technology that has rendered sirens ineffective: telephones, radios, televisions, and cell phones.

 To provide an encompassing early-warning system, the City of Baytown uses a combination of the federal Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Connect-CTY – a computer-based telecommunications warning system. EAS sends those emergency messages through television, radio, satellite, and cable connections warning of severe weather, chemical leaks, and other immediate threats. Baytown ’s Emergency Management Office uses Connect-CTY to make tens of thousands of emergency telephone calls to homes, cell phones, text messages, and emails warning residents of threats and dangerous situations. Instead of just a warning sound, residents receive a descriptive message advising of the specific emergency and brief instructions on what protective actions need to be taken.

 If an effort to reach as many people as possible should the need arise, the City of Baytown is going to keep those chemical emergency sirens for the foreseeable future. While not the primary means of warning, they provide a simple complement to the electronic media warning systems.

 For more information, or to register for Connect-CTY, call the City of Baytown Infoline at 281-420-5311.