Winnebago County and the following cities: Forest City, Lake Mills, Buffalo Center, Thompson, Rake, Scarville and Leland have contracted with Emergency Communications Network, Inc., of Ormond Beach, Florida, for its "CodeRED" high-speed telephone emergency notification services. The CodeRED system gives emergency management the ability to deliver pre-recorded emergency telephone notification/information messages to targeted areas or the entire county at a rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour. Notifications may include such things as natural disaster information, evacuation notices, terrorism threats, and missing children, or missing elderly information.

Such systems are only as good as the telephone database supporting them. If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called. The CodeRED system gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly to the system's telephone database.

To ensure no one is omitted, Winnebago County Communications urges all individuals and businesses to follow the link to the "CodeRED" Residential and Business Data Collection" page. Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number, additional phone numbers (optional).

No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included. All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the last year, and who use a cellular phone as their primary home phone.

The CodeRED system is a geographical based notification system, which means street addresses are needed to select which phone numbers will receive emergency notification calls in any given situation. The system works fine for cell phones too, but a street address is needed. People who have recently moved but kept the same listed or unlisted phone number also need to change their address in the database.

CodeRED gives those who want to be included an easy and secure method for doing so. The information will only be used for emergency notification purposes. Questions should be directed to 911@winncosheriff.org or Winnebago County Emergency Management 641-585-1942.

Criteria for launching a CodeRED notification will be at the discretion of the Winnebago County Communications Director and Supervisor. Winnebago County Communications will not be held responsible for any emergency situation in which a CodeRED notification was not activated.

Link to the "CodeRED" Residential and Business Data Collection" page.