Cascade County Postpones New Safety System Test

One of the best things about living in Cascade County is the effort put forth by law enforcement and the hard work they do to keep us safe.

Now, the community is preparing to take the next step in disaster preparedness with the launch of the new safety alert system.

Introducing CodeRED: Cascade County's New Safety Alert System

In case you missed it, we previously discussed the CodeRED system and how it would be implemented to keep our community safe.

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According to a post from Great Falls Fire Rescue back in September, "City and county officials will use CodeRED to alert residents and businesses by phone, SMS, email, mobile app and more."

"Keep informed of critical emergencies in our area!"

Cascade County Postpones Test Launch of CodeRED

The CodeRED system was originally planned to get its first test today (11/12) but will be postponed as they work out some kinks in the system. Still, Cascade County Disaster & Emergency Services Coordinator Taylor Harrell reminds us all to get involved.

"It's really important that everybody gets signed up for it," Harrell said in an exclusive interview with 560 KMON, "We're not going to misuse the system, it is a critical alert system and that's what we're going to use it for."

"We do want to test it because [of] the infrastructure of our community, we have to see if it's going to withstand a mass notification."

Why Is CodeRED Being Postponed?

Today was supposed to be the first official test alert for CodeRED but unfortunately, issues within the system are preventing the county from being able to properly test it.

Sheriff Slaughter shared with 560 KMON that they've already experienced a "crash" with the system that hindered some people from being able to sign up for the alert system. He tells 560 KMON that it's better to have this issue now rather than later when the system might be used during an actual disaster.

"This little crash that we had with them (CodeRED) is very concerning and we're going to watch it," Sheriff Slaughter shared.

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"The good news is [that] this happened when we don't have an emergency, while we're testing the system - this is why we do this."

Sheriff Slaughter admits that yes, it's up to county officials to troubleshoot issues with the system... but they can't do it without the help of the community.

"I don't want anyone out there to get discouraged," Slaughter says, "It's obviously our responsibility to make the system works appropriately, but to the community - it's your responsibility to get signed up."

"If you don't sign up, you're not going to get the notifications."

Both Sheriff Slaughter and Harrell encourage participants to offer feedback about the system on the Facebook pages for Cascade County when the new testing date is announced.

Learn more about CodeRED and how to sign up for the notification service HERE.