Commerce : Computerized Emergency Warning System Activated
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The City of Commerce on Wednesday activated a new emergency warning system that is capable of notifying the city’s 12,000 residents and 1,300 businesses by telephone within minutes of a chemical spill or other disaster.
The largely industrial city contracts with the Community Alert Network of Schenectady, N.Y., for the service at a cost of about $11,000 a year plus $1 per minute for phone calls, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. John Tucker, the city’s emergency preparedness officer.
In the event of a toxic spill or other disaster, the computerized system would begin placing calls to 50 residences or businesses at a time. The system delivers a recorded message, in English and Spanish, providing evacuation information and other emergency instructions.
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