Carson City Assistant Emergency Manager Jon Bakkedahl leads Carson City School District staff in a safety meeting before an active shooter drill at Carson High in June.

The logo for Alert Carson, a new emergency notification system for residents.

Carson City officials sent out a press release on Oct. 2 announcing a change in how residents are notified of emergencies and other events in the community.

The new system is called Alert Carson or !CARSON.

“Carson City is in the process of migrating CodeRed’s emergency alert system to !CARSON (Alert Carson), operated by our partner RAVE,” the statement said. “During this transition, residents will receive future emails and may have already received an email confirmation from [email protected].

“Please click on the link to be included in the !CARSON mass notification system. Carson City will use this system to help residents stay informed about incidents and events in Carson City. Residents who do not wish to receive notifications can opt out by calling the city number 775-887-2000, pressing option one when prompted and leaving a message. Once removed from the system, residents will be notified by the city. Residents can also fill out an opt-out form at carson.org/alerts.”

The same website can be used to register: carson.org/alerts.

The appeals court contacted Carson City Deputy Emergency Manager Jon Bakkedahl, who answered questions about the change in alerting those who live, visit or work in the city.

Roll Call: What emergency warnings do people currently have about CodeRed and why the change?

Bakkedahl: The CodeRed contract expires on October 11, 2024. It was primarily used by Public Works for water notifications. The CodeRed system was limited in language translation. The !CARSON system allows for more languages ​​and non-local registrations for out-of-state visitors and owners.

Objection: What happens if a resident does nothing? Are they automatically enrolled? Does this include texts and emails?

Bakkedahl: If they do nothing, they will not receive important information about events and incidents that could affect them. Residents must register. We have entered your basic information from Carson Utility Services, but you will need to create a profile for advanced information. By building your own opt-in data, you can also provide a lot of information to respondents. This is done through the 911 reverse opt-in at carson.org/alerts. Based on the data entered into the system, notifications are made via landline, mobile phone and email notification.

Appeal: Why is it important for residents to use this new system?

Bakkedahl: !CARSON will allow residents and visitors to stay informed about road closures, environmental impacts (fire or wind), and important local jurisdiction information. The most common complaint from residents during incidents is the lack of information. This is another tool for the community to raise awareness and gain access to important information.

Objection: Could you go into a little more detail about what the warnings cover? I see fires, public safety advisories, weather alerts (red flag days), public works notifications, road closures, special events and more. What kind of events are people likely to see? Do you coordinate with the school district for school-related emergencies?

Bakkedahl: The !CARSON messages are non-emergency alerts to inform the public about NV Day road closures, major road construction with detours and closures, warnings and area closures. Finally, !CARSON will be able to leverage the federal and state network IPAWS, the integrated public alarm and warning system, to issue emergency alerts such as evacuations, flood warnings and hazardous materials warnings. These are declared emergency or disaster reports that allow greater reach via television, radio and cell phones. The school district has its own parent notification system, but we can coordinate with them if additional information needs to be disseminated using !CARSON.

Appeal: Can people control their notifications like in an app?

Bakkedahl: The public will have the ability to customize which devices they should receive notifications from. However, they cannot filter the type of messages received. Some messages are based on geographic location. The plan is to use !CARSON wisely to respect the digital overdose of news, so that when the public uses it, they know they have relevant information.