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Emergency management says city migrated Code Red service to Crisis24; volunteers staff radio room
Summary
Emergency management told the finance subcommittee the city’s mass-notification service moved from the old Code Red vendor to Crisis24, which purchased the old customer list so residents remain enrolled without re-subscription; the department also relies on about 15 volunteers who staff radio operations and train monthly.
The emergency management director told the finance subcommittee that the city’s mass-notification service (branded as Code Red) now runs on a different vendor platform. The vendor transition occurred after the prior company suffered a cyber incident; the new vendor, Crisis24, purchased the customer list so Leominster residents remained enrolled without re-signup. The director said enrollment is free for residents because the city purchases the service.
"The service we have is called Code Red, but it's not the old vendor," the director said, explaining the migration and reassurance that "nobody has to reenroll." He added that the city paid contract obligations forward to avoid a lapse in service.
Committee members asked about staffing and training. The director said the radio room and emergency communications are principally staffed by volunteers—about 15 currently—who train monthly and receive state and federal instructors for specialized topics such as crowd safety and prevention of violent intruders. The volunteer service reduces payroll costs for the city while maintaining 24/7 radio capabilities, staff said.
Emergency management also described paying contract costs in advance for mass-notification and said they do not anticipate supplemental budget requests this fiscal year for that service. The committee did not take formal action; staff offered to provide enrollment information on the city website for residents.
