TrendStates deploy emergency notification systems

We recently reported on two states — California and Florida (well, four counties in Florida) — moving forward with plans to deploy emergency notification systems. We now add the Volunteer State to the list. Tennessee Homeland Security District 7, which covers seven counties north of Nashville, is implementing a telephone emergency notification system developed by Franklin, Tennessee-based Dialogic Communications (DCC). The system, Telephone Emergency Notification System (TENS), works through an Internet-based calling engine developed by DCC. TENS will be used to before, during, and after emergency situations, such as terrorist threats or flooding evacuations, to notify residents, first responders, emergency management and businesses by phone.

DCC, which develops emergency notifications systems, has a three-year service contract worth $187,500 for the TENS system. Funding for the system is coming from DHS. TENS contact data is derived from all listed residential and business telephone numbers throughout the seven-county region. District 7 covers Montgomery, Dickson, Cheatham, Robertson, Humphreys, Houston, and Stewart counties. In the event of an emergency, an operator in a 911 Center can identify affected neighborhoods or regions of a county and record a message that describes the situation and recommends protective actions. TENS then calls the listed numbers within that geographic area and delivers the message.

-read more in this news release