
DERBY — City government is encouraging the public to sign up for the city’s new “CodeRed” messaging service.
The CodeRed system, which is used extensively by towns and cities in Connecticut, allows users to sign up for citywide announcements.
The type of information relayed varies from town-to-town, but CodeRed is especially useful to relay information about emergencies. The sign-up form allows you to sign up for ‘emergency’ notifications only, if you so choose.
In an announcement Wednesday, Mayor Richard Dziekan’s office said the company behind CodeRed has already provided the city with a list of 6,500 resident phone numbers.
If you want to sign up for Derby CodeRed notifications, visit https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/BF851D058F43 or text DERBYALERT to 99411 to receive a direct link to the enrollment form on a mobile device.
“Former residents who have moved out of Derby but are still listed in the CodeRed phone number database can email the Mayor’s administrative assistant fpepe@DerbyCT.gov provide their phone number and asked to be removed,” according to a statement from Derby City Hall.
The Dziekan administration sent its first automated CodeRed message on Wednesday to alert residents about a paving project that will limit parking on Elizabeth Street in downtown Derby.
In a prepared statement Mayor Dziekan said the CodeRed system should come in handy with the Main Street/Route 34 widening project, which just started. The widening project is happening on a very busy road that intersects with Route 8, so traffic delays are not out of the question as the project progresses.
“With the Route 34 widening project having commenced, this will be one of the primary tools we will be using to let everyone know about traffic conditions on Main St./Route 34, in addition to emergency situations as they arise. With a managed account, which takes only minutes to sign up for, people can choose to method of notification they find most convenient phone, email or text,” according to the statement.
From the press release: “The CodeRed mobile app is available for download from the App Store for Apple users and Google Play for Android users. Recipients of CodeRed notifications will recognize the CodeRED call when their caller ID displays the following numbers. 866 – 419-5000 for Emergency Alert for Emergency Notifications 855 – 969-4636 or Community Alert for General Notifications. To ensure you receive the notifications, please be sure to add these telephone numbers into your cell phone contacts.”
“CodeRed” and robocalls from local governments in the lower Naugatuck Valley are common place, even more so since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Derby local legislators were talking about getting a “CodeRed” system back in 2020, but did not approve the initiative until January 2022. At the time, the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen authorized spending up to $6,500.