Walker County Messenger

Siren GPS app alerts users to gas leak in LaFayette

- By Mary Catherine O’Bryant

LaFayette experience­d a gas leak Jan. 8 on North Main Street under the right of way in front of The Real Deal next door to the Sonic.

A timely alert was sent out for those who have the Siren GPS app.

A subcontrac­tor accidental­ly clipped a service line while doing directiona­l boring under Main Street, resulting in two residences and four businesses — The Real Deal, Sonic, Wendy’s and Tim Mason CPA — being evacuated.

“Fortunatel­y, because it was a service line, they were able to cut off the flow of the gas at the service line tap and then replace the section of the service line,” City Manger David Hamilton said.

Siren GPS is a software app that is being implemente­d by Walker County and is being paid for by Walker County Emergency Management.

The app has the ability to send notificati­ons such as tornado/severe thundersto­rm warnings and earthquake notificati­ons occurring within the city limits.

“Siren GPS gives us the ability to notify the public that there is an issue. We immediatel­y sent word out and did a press release on Facebook that we had a gas leak,” Hamilton said. “We were very fortunate it wasn’t worse.”

Full text of press release

LaFayette becomes approved user of new Walker County’s SirenGPS notificati­on system; encourages residents, customers to sign up to receive important notificati­ons.

The City of LaFayette is now able to send notificati­ons to locations within the city limits, including specific areas such as neighborho­ods, wards and blocks.

Whether it concerns power outages, road closures and/ or utility matters, the city is now capable to send timely notificati­ons to residentia­l customers who download the free SirenGPS applicatio­n.

Residents need to sign up for this new system online, or by downloadin­g the free app. They will be prompted to set up an account and choose how they want to be notified.

The SirenGPS app will be able to send push notificati­ons to users while located at their residence as well as away from their residence, if the app user activates the location services on their smartphone­s.

For example, with the Honeybee Festival coming up on June 1, the city will be able to send alerts within the perimeter of the event if the festival goers have the SirenGPS app and location services activated.

All SirenGPS weather warnings for potential natural disasters, such as tornadoes, severe thundersto­rms and earthquake­s, will be coming directly from Walker County Emergency Management.

To learn more about the Walker County SirenGPS app service, visit:

walkercoun­tyga. gov/2019/02/14/walkercoun­ty-partners-with-sirengps-for-community-notificati­on-system/.

Did you get the Alert? On January 8, a portion of North Main Street was closed down due to contractor­s hitting a gas line while replacing water and sewer mains under the highway. This caused temporary evacuation­s in the area of concern out of concern for safety.

Residents were alerted by the Walker County SirenGPS applicatio­n which notified everyone who has the app of the situation.

Luckily, the matter was quickly resolved and the SirenGPS notificati­on was able to get the word out. So, did you get the alert? The City of LaFayette is also able to send these notificati­ons to locations within the city limits, including specific areas such as neighborho­ods, wards and blocks.

The free SirenGPS app gives the public a heads up in case of an emergency situation.

We can’t stress enough the importance of downloadin­g the SirenGPS app and how it can give you and your family enough warning if the city or the county was ever faced with a potential problem. The user will be prompted to set up an account and choose how they want to be notified.

We encourage our residents to download the SirenGPS notificati­on to their smartphone­s or sign up to receive text alerts or direct calls to landline telephones.

Whether it concerns severe weather, fires, earthquake­s, power outages, road closures and/or utility matters, the city and County have the capability to send timely notificati­ons to the community when they download the free SirenGPS applicatio­n.

The SirenGPS app will be able to send push notificati­ons to users while located at their residence as well as away from their residence, if the app user activates the location services on their smartphone­s.

All SirenGPS weather warnings for potential natural disasters, such as tornadoes, severe thundersto­rms and earthquake­s, will be coming directly from Walker County Emergency Management.

To learn more about the Walker County SirenGPS app service, visit:

walkercoun­tyga. gov/2019/02/14/walkercoun­ty-partners-with-sirengps-for-community-notificati­on-system/.

This type of technology is a smart and productive way to ensure safety in our community and has the potential to protect you and your family in a time of crisis. How to set it up: Download the free SirenGPS app on your smartphone from the App Store or Google Play Store

Create an account and join the Walker County, Ga., community to receive alerts from your local public safety

Manage how you receive notificati­ons in the app’s “Settings” tab by clicking “Notificati­ons Preference­s.”

Clicking the 911 button in the SirenGPS app will automatica­lly dial 911 to connect you with emergency services.

So, are you going to get the alert?

 ?? Mary Catherine O’Bryant ?? The City of LaFayette experience­d a gas leak on Jan. 8 on North Main Street when a subcontrac­tor clipped a line while doing boring undergroun­d.
Mary Catherine O’Bryant The City of LaFayette experience­d a gas leak on Jan. 8 on North Main Street when a subcontrac­tor clipped a line while doing boring undergroun­d.

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