Naplesnews.com

Don Farmer: Better 'Code Red' than dead

By: Don Farmer Friday, May 19, 2006

The term “Code Red” is cool.

It conjures up heroic first responders, rushing to save the day. They often do that, of course, but Code Red, as used in Naples and Marco Island, is a vital tool in saving lives in a hurricane or other disaster.

So if you don’t use it, you should sign up now. Hurricane season begins in 13 days. You’ll get phone calls with valuable information on emergency conditions, possible evacuations, etc.

In the city of Naples, CodeRED (its official logo) has your number if it’s in the Sprint phone book. But if you want to be contacted on a cell or other phone, here or anywhere, you must sign up.

Go to the Internet, to www.naplesgov.com. Scroll down to “City of Naples Implements an Emergency Notification System.” Look for a sentence in blue reading, “Click here to update your information.”

Follow directions to enter your data and you’ll be on CodeRED.

Residents of Marco Island must enroll in the system to get the calls. Having your number listed in the phone book is not enough.

The easiest way is on the city’s Web site, www.cityofmarcoisland.com. Scroll to the prominent CodeRED icon, click on it and you’ll find a form to fill out that will get all your phone numbers enrolled.

Officials on Marco and in Naples seem to love the CodeRED system, provided by a private firm, Emergency Communications Network Inc., CodeRED Division, in Ormond Beach.

As Hurricane Wilma headed our way last October, Naples Mayor Bill Barnett recorded emergency announcements via CodeRED.

“Right after the storm, our CodeRED efforts got many positive comments from residents happy to hear the mayor giving them vital information on the phone, “ said Naples Fire Chief Jim McEvoy.

For Marco Island, the upcoming hurricane season will be the third in which officials use CodeRED, having bought the system in August 2004. It is very popular on the island.

“Last year we made 84,180 calls using CodeRED between Oct. 19 and the 26th,” said Marco Fire Chief Mike Murphy.

In brief, CodeRED uses computer software to define a geographical area — Marco Island, for example — then creates a database with all the phone numbers of residents and businesses that have registered to get the alerts.

The designated person records the message into the system, buttons are pushed and, shazam, CodeRED begins ringing phones around town.

Marco’s system cost about $10,000 to install; last year’s calls cost an additional $10,000, but all American taxpayers are paying the bill. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses the city (and I believe Naples as well) for the cost of CodeRED.

Collier County Emergency Management Coordinator Rick Zyvoloski uses several systems to alert residents, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather radio and “Emergencyemail.org.”

“We can trigger local messages on NOAA radio for life-threatening situations,” Zyvoloski noted. “And Emergencyemail.org is an unofficial but reliable service to get the word to people via text messages on their cell phones, pagers or e-mail.”

It seems that Collier County residents are about as well covered as we can be, at least until Captain Marvel or Mighty Mouse show up to save the day.

Still, I’m not sure FEMA reimburses super heroes.

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Don Farmer is a former ABC News and CNN newsman. E-mail: don@donfarmer.com.