FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Ernie Baggett, Autauga EMA Director, or 334.361.3758

October 10, 2013



Autauga County and the City of Prattville are pleased to announce that we have implemented a mobile app, Ping4Alerts!, that will serve all of Autauga County and the City of Prattville.

Ping4Alerts! is a revolutionary mobile communications solution for alerting citizens to dangers and emergencies wherever they are in the world. It will enable Autauga EMA, Autauga 9-1-1, Autauga County Sheriff's Office, Prattville Police and Fire Departments, and Mayor Gillespie's Office to send highly targeted, multimedia alerts to mobile devices instantly notifying citizens of dangers and emergencies happening at the exact moment and in the very location they happen to be.

Autauga EMA Director Ernie Baggett found this mobile app through his thorough research of tools to use as Autauga County has no reverse 911 program. Baggett began this research while employed with Montgomery County and continued his efforts here.

"The County had a need and after assessing several solutions, Ping4Alerts! was the most feature-rich, allowed multiple agencies to use it concurrently, and was the most cost-effective," Autauga EMA Director Ernie Baggett said. "We are especially proud to be the first agencies in the State of Alabama to implement this service."

"Autauga County and the City of Prattville are the big winners here," stated Mayor Bill Gillespie, Jr. "This app will give us the ability to push out notifications to our citizens through their mobile devices. Ernie has made this possible and we appreciate his efforts and those of his staff."

The mobile app is available free to the public in the iPhone App Store and the Google Play Store. Once downloaded, you will receive alerts as you move into our area.

We will send out monthly alerts for weather siren testing and possibly public meetings so that citizens know the app is working properly between emergency alerts.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Autauga EMA at 334.361.3758.