Reverse 911

Emergency Communications Protocol

Reverse 911 is a public safety communications technology used by public safety organizations in Canada and the United States to communicate with groups of people in a defined geographic area. The system uses a database of telephone numbers and associated addresses, which, when tied into geographic information systems (GIS), can be used to deliver recorded emergency notifications to a selected set of telephone service subscribers.^[1]

Background

Reverse 911 was developed by Sigma Micro Corporation, later known as Sigma Communications, in 1993.^[2] After a number of corporate acquisitions, Motorola Solutions ultimately gained ownership of the technology and rights developed by Sigma, and Motorola has folded Reverse 911 into their Vesta suite of public safety systems.^[3]

Case studies

The system is used to notify residents in emergency situations, for example:

During the 2010 Boston water emergency, government agencies used the system to notify a large number of Boston-area residents in particular neighborhoods to boil water before drinking.^[4]
During the much more contained 2004 bulldozer rampage in Granby, Colorado, authorities used Reverse 911 to notify the approximately 1,500 residents of the town to evacuate from the bulldozer's path.^[5]
During the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Seaside and Astoria, Oregon, residents were notified by Reverse 911 and sirens to evacuate low-lying areas.^[6]
When the improvised explosive devices in the Aurora, Colorado, apartment of mass murderer James Holmes were detonated by police, Reverse 911 was used to notify nearby residents of the evacuation order.^[7]
On December 14, 2012, Reverse 911 was used to notify parents in the Sandy Hook community of Newtown, Connecticut, of the mass shooting there.^[8]
During the manhunt for suspects involved in the Boston Marathon bombing, Reverse 911 was used to notify residents of Watertown, Massachusetts, to remain in their homes.^[9]
In October 2014, some Dallas, Texas, residents were notified of the city's second Ebola infection case by a Reverse 911 call.^[10]
In 2023, residents of South Coventry Township, PA received late-night reverse 911 calls to lock their doors and stay inside during the search for escaped murderer Danilo Cavalcante.

References

^ "What is Reverse 911?" (PDF). Sammamish.wa.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
^ "Welcome to the Reverse 911 Web Site". Sigma Micro Corporation. 1997. Archived from the original on May 26, 1998.
^ "Motorola Solutions Completes Acquisition of Airbus DS Communications". Motorola Solutions. March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
^ Henry, Derrick (May 2, 2010). "Ruptured Pipe Cuts Water in Boston". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
^ "Bulldozer rampage gunman dead". CNN.com. June 5, 2004. Archived from the original on April 19, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
^ Mungeam, Frank (March 11, 2011). "Tsunami causes evacuations, damage at Ore. coast". KGW.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
^ Aurora Police Department (July 21, 2012). "UPDATE: Peoria Street CLOSED..." Twitter.com. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
^ Stoller, Gary; Strauss, Gary; Stanglin, Doug (December 14, 2012). "Gunman kills mom, 26 others in school shooting spree". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012.
^ Kumar, Nikhil (April 19, 2013). "Boston Marathon bombing: How critically injured man's memory of 'man in the white cap' gave FBI vital clue". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 22, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
^ Fantz, Ashley; Yan, Holly (October 13, 2014). "Questions remain about how Dallas nurse got Ebola". CNN.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.