E-mail Alerts May Not Be Best Bet in Emergencies Like Va. Tech Shooting
Bob Poe, president of Ormond Beach, Fla.-based Emergency Communications Network, said emergency notification systems that tie into telephone systems are much more effective in letting people know what is happening around them. "The phone is the last alarm that anybody has, whether it's in their hand or in their pocket," Poe said. "And they answer it."
CodeRed, the emergency notification system sold by his company, also ties instant communications alerts to e-mail, text messaging, fax machines and other devices. "I'm not second-guessing what they did [at Virginia Tech], but there is technology out there to do this, and it's readily available and it's effective."
The system allows different alerts to be sent to different groups of people in various locations during an emergency, depending on their proximity to the danger, Poe said. The cost for 40,000 users is $15,000 to $20,000 annually, he said.
A spokesman at Virginia Tech could not be reached today because the campus is shut down for the rest of the week in the wake of the shootings.
Va. Tech
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