The Burlington County Commissioners are encouraging residents to register on the Department of Public Safety’s CivicReady Emergency Alert system to receive real-time alerts and notifications about severe weather, fires, power outages, floods, road closures and other emergencies.
“When emergencies occur, it’s imperative that our residents receive critical information in a timely fashion and the CivicReady system helps ensure that happens,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Dan O’Connell. “Residents can select their preference of receiving alerts via text, email or voicemail, along with which municipalities they wish to receive information from or about. It’s a free service that’s reserved solely for emergency messages and time-sensitive information related to public safety.”
The Burlington County Office of Emergency Management is one of the principal users of the system, along with the Burlington County Public Safety Dispatch Center, Health Department, Department of Corrections, Information Technology and Administration.
The service has also been extended to all 40 municipalities for local emergency notifications. So far, more than half of the county towns have elected to do so, along with the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
“By extending this service free-of-charge to municipalities, we’re helping to protect public safety and saving money for towns and their property taxpayers because they no longer need to rely on other alert systems that charge fees,” O’Connell said. “It’s a great shared service that keeps residents safe and provides cost savings, so we’re encouraging municipalities and their residents to make use of it.”
Five municipalities – Beverly, Edgewater Park, Delanco, Mansfield and Mount Holly – began using the new system this year. The other Burlington County towns using the County’s CivicReady system for alerts are: Bordentown Township, Mount Laurel, Delran, Florence, Palmyra, Wrightstown, Maple Shade, Willingboro, Southampton, Tabernacle, Pemberton Borough, Lumberton, Hainesport, Moorestown, North Hanover and New Hanover.
“We’re thrilled with the participation so far and have heard from several additional towns that are interested in joining on and using it,” O’Connell said. “By signing up, residents can stay informed during hazards and emergency situations so they can respond appropriately.”
To sign up for the CivicReady alerts online go to http://co.burlington.nj.us/210/Emergency-Notification-Systems and complete the registration form which will ask for an address and preferred method of contact. Residents can select to be notified on a home phone or cell phone, by text message or email. The address is used to tailor alerts, so residents don’t receive ones that don’t pertain to their geographic area. Residents can also request alerts for specific towns.
The alerts are provided free of charge but standard text messaging rates may apply.
The system is used for emergency alerts, as well as non-emergency incidents that may have significant impacts to residents, including transportation problems with prolonged impacts or significant ongoing police or fire activity.
