Cranston to Test CodeRED System Thursday

CRANSTON, RI—If you signed up for the CodeRED emergency notification system recently, don't be alarmed if you get an alert on your mobile device from the system on Thursday.

Officials are planning a test of the system, which is used to alert citizens of missing persons, fires, gas leaks an dmore, and an alert will be sent at around 10 a.m. to test the system's performance.

Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung said the tet is the "next phase of the CodeRED system and this test will enable us to better serve our residents."

The CodeRED emergency notification system is used by many communities in Rhode Island to send instant text alerts to residents who opt-in. Cranston signed on with the service in March.

Along with major emergencies, the system enables authorities to notify residents of important information, such as a water main break that could affect a specific neighborhood's water quality, for example.

"We are very happy to have this technology to enhance our emergency preparedness plans," said Fire Chief William Mckenna.

For the system to be effective, residents need to sign up for the CodeRED alerts on the city of Cranston website if they're not already in the system. The city is launching the service with an "initial database" of residential and business numbers but a large number of people, especially those without residential land lines, aren't in the database.

If you don't have internet access readily available, you can call the Cranston Emergency Management Agency at 401-780-4030 during weekday business hours to sign up by phone.