Reverse 911

Most Rowan County citizens know they can call 9-1-1 to get assistance in the event of a police, fire or medical emergency. With the Reverse 911 system, Rowan County Public Safety Personnel can also notify residents and businesses about a potential emergency circumstance.

The Reverse 911 Community Notification System allows Rowan County Public Safety to rapidly notify specific geographical areas by telephone with minimal impact on emergency services personnel.

How does Reverse 911 work?

In the event of an emergency, Rowan County Telecommunications can identify the affect area of Rowan County and record a message that describes the situation and recommends the protective actions residents should take. The Reverse 911 system will automatically call out to all listed telephone numbers within that geographic area and deliver the recorded message. If phone lines are busy, the system will attempt to redial those numbers a predetermined number of times to make contact. If an answering machine picks up the call, the emergency message will be left on the machine.

System Features

The Reverse 911 system's features make it an excellent tool for sharing information and alerting residents in the case of an emergency situation.

• It can provide an initial warning as well as specific instructions to protect at-risk citizens.  Both factors are necessary for effective warning.
• Reverse 911 can target specific geographic locations, warning only those people who are directly at risk.
• The system uses existing devices (telephones) to alert citizens; there is no need for people to buy a specialized warning device.
• System administrators can add telephone numbers to the database.  This can be used to add unlisted telephone numbers and cell phone numbers to the system.

Some of the many uses of the system include:

• Emergency Evacuations
• Missing Person Alerts
• Natural Disaster Alerts
• Hazardous Material Leaks
• Search and Rescue Operations
• Crime Prevention
• Wanted Person Alerts
• Neighborhood Emergency Incidents
• Special Community Notifications
• Homeland Security

The REVERSE 911 technology provides Rowan County's Public Safety personnel with a state-of-the-art, public safety communication solution to better serve those who live and work in Rowan County.

System Limitations

As with any system, the REVERSE 911 system has its limitations. These can be minimized with diligent administration of the system, but they will always exist to some degree:

• The telephone number database contains only the telephone numbers listed in the White Pages for Rowan County, North Carolina. As a result, unless manually added to the database, REVERSE 911 will not notify people with unlisted numbers or cell phones. Additional phone numbers may also be registered for use with Rowan County's Reverse 911 System by completing the form at the bottom of this page.
• Cell phone numbers are not included in the database, but can be manually entered into the system linked to a specific address. This could lead to the situation of a cell phone being notified with the user is mobile and well out of the affected area. Or conversely, the situation where the user is mobile, is in the affected area, but is not notified because the fixed location of the number is in an unaffected area. Please consider this when registering cell phone information for addition to the database.
• REVERSE 911 is very effective for making notifications within a well-defined geographic area. Due to the outgoing call capacity of the system, the system becomes less effective as a geographic area gets larger. For this reason, Rowan County takes a systematic approach to warning, recognizing that no simple application can provide warning to all citizens in all situations. The REVERSE 911 system is now the primary method of notification for Emergency Communications being issued by the local government. It will be supplemented by Rowan County's other notification systems such as local news media and radio stations.

Call Screening Features

REVERSE 911 will not work with phone lines having call screening features. For example, if your phone line requires an individual to identify him or herself through a recorded message before the call is accepted, the REVERSE 911 system will not work. The system is designed to play the recorded message upon voice activation, such as a person saying "hello" or an answering machine recording.

Private Call Blocking

However, the REVERSE 911 system will work if your phone line has private call blocking. The system automatically identifies itself, allowing the phone call through.

New Residents and Changes

Also, citizens that have recently moved into Rowan County or changed the phone numbers should register their phone number(s) using the form below.

REVERSE 911 is voluntary. During the initial instillation of the system, all listed Rowan County residences will be called. Persons can elect to be taken off the system at any time by sending signed written instructions to the address listed above.

The incorporation of the REVERSE 911 system represents Rowan County's continuing commitment to providing our citizens with the most advanced technologies available to ensure that our local public safety is as effective as possible.