Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Deploys SpectraRep ActiveAccess for Emergency Mass Notification and Citizen Preparedness

Emergency Management Officials Using ActiveAccess to Deliver Alerts, Weather Bulletins, Hurricane Tracking, and Emergency Preparedness and Response Information to the Computer Desktops of Local Citizens and Businesses

CHANTILLY, Va.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--SpectraRep™, the leader in standards-based emergency notification systems, today announced that the Tangipahoa Parish (Louisiana) Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has deployed SpectraRep’s ActiveAccess™ desktop alerting solution to meet its emergency mass notification and citizen preparedness needs. The deployment of the Tangipahoa Alert System will provide civil, AMBER, homeland security, and local and national weather alerts to citizens and businesses, as well as weather radar, hurricane tracking, and other local government information.

“The deployment of ActiveAccess gives Tangipahoa another platform for delivering information such as evacuation orders, shelter information, and lightning strikes when time is critical and people need to be informed.”

“As a service to the public we wanted to identify a method that could almost instantaneously provide critical safety and emergency information, whether they were acts of nature or man-made,” said Dawson Primes, director of Tangipahoa Parish. “With ActiveAccess, Tangipahoa Township has found an efficient and proven method to keeping our residents aware of what’s happening by using a cutting-edge technology that everyone can easily access and use throughout the day.”

The ActiveAccess technology behind the Tangipahoa Alert System is a non-intrusive, light-weight application that requires about as much memory as a single webpage to access. Once installed, the application sits quietly in the desktop tray. When an event does occur, officials can issue scrolling text alerts or graphical and video alerts (stream or taped) that are delivered to the desktop through the application within a few minutes after issuance. The application automatically delivers weather warnings from the National Weather Service. The “stay-in-front” technology causes all alerts to appear in front of any other open programs so they are never missed on the desktop.

“We are pleased to provide this vital service to Tangipahoa Parish as they work to protect the interests of their citizens both on a daily basis and in the case of an emergency,” said Ed Czarnecki, EVP SpectraRep. “The deployment of ActiveAccess gives Tangipahoa another platform for delivering information such as evacuation orders, shelter information, and lightning strikes when time is critical and people need to be informed.”

One of the key features of ActiveAccess to Tangipahoa is its ability to send instant alerts and warnings to all users across the parish or to targeted groups, such as first responders, CERT teams or other local groups. This precision targeting ability will ensure the right information is delivered to the right group of people. The Tangipahoa Alert System also delivers live RSS feeds to all local TV stations as yet another way of keeping citizens informed.

The Tangipahoa Alert System further expands the extensive use of SpectraRep’s desktop alerting solution in counties, municipalities and critical infrastructure across the country. For more information and a demonstration, visit http://www.spectrarep.com/products/activeaccess/city-government.htm or call 703.227.9690.

About SpectraRep

SpectraRep® is a leading provider of managed network solutions, applications and systems for homeland security, public safety, education and mass media sectors. ActiveAccess™ is SpectraRep's solution for delivering emergency alerting to the computer desktop. SpectraRep uses the ActiveAccess solution, in combination with its AlertManager™ and IncidentOne™ solutions, to provide a comprehensive emergency alert notification resource for state and local governments, colleges and universities, as well as businesses and organizations. As an application originally designed for mass notification by state and local governments, ActiveAccess is easy to download and meets the information, security and notification needs of the general public. SpectraRep is a subsidiary of BIA Financial Network Inc., a premier advisory services firm that has served the media and communications industries for more than two decades. For more information about SpectraRep, visit www.spectrarep.com.

This release is available at http://www.spectrarep.com/news/press/2009/press_06162009.htm

Keyword Tags:

SpectraRep, Tangipahoa Parish, Emergency Alert System, BIA Financial Network, desktop alerting solution, homeland security, emergency notification, first responders, Office of Homeland Security, AlertManager, IncidentOne