CodeRED Notifications Alert Residents to Emergencies

As Hurricane Earl threatened the south shore of Long Island last week, Suffolk County officials took the storm's potential impact on communities including Bayport and Blue Point to encourage residents to register with its CodeRED program.

Their message was apparently received by many, as county officials reported that as of Sept. 3, 7,000 residents county-wide had signed up for CodeRED, which is used by the county's Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (FRES) to contact Suffolk residents in the event of an actual or impending emergency.

The Emergency Communications Network's CodeRED high-speed notification system is a telephone communication service that can deliver customized pre-recorded emergency messages directly to Suffolk County homes and businesses at the proven capacity of millions of calls per day, according to officials. CodeRED also has high-speed email and text messaging capability. 

Bayport Fire Department Chief Glen Baillargeon said he is familiar with the system and, through FRES, the fire department "can request to have notification sent to any of our residents for any type of emergency that will immediately affect our community."

"It could be for something like a storm or even if there was a gas leak in town," Baillargeon added, "It's (CodeRED) definitely a resource the fire department can use to notify the community."

Another resource available to Bayport and Blue Point residents is the storm surge map, a tool used by FRES to assist with preparedness and planning efforts and to identify communities/ individuals that are at risk from a potential storm and who may be asked to evacuate should conditions warrant. A majority of homes in Bayport and Blue Point are in close proximity to the Great South Bay and the map shows which areas are in the flood zone. The maps depict the predicted hurricane surge inundation values generated in Suffolk County for a Northwest-moving hurricane at high tide for storms with intensities of Category 1 through Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

To sign up for CodeRED, follow this link.