WHITESTOWN — Whitestown officials say nearly 300 residents have already signed up to receive alerts from their new Smart 911 alert system that launched at the end of April.
They are hoping to get the word out so even more people sign up.
"Whitestown has been the fastest-growing community in the state of Indiana for nearly a decade," Kim Heffner, Director of Public Relations for the Town of Whitestown said. "So as we've seen that growth we recognize that need to communicate with our residents as that number of residents has grown. We really felt like the system and this technology was a good way to do that."
The platform is already used by towns, cities and law enforcement agencies across the country. That includes nearby Zionsville and the Boone County Sheriff's Office.
"That was one of the reasons we went with this platform," Heffner said. "If people are already receiving alerts from Boone County they can simply just opt in to also receive the alerts from Whitestown."
Local mother Sarah Ford signed up to receive weather, events, safety and traffic alerts.
"I think that here in Whitestown we feel pretty safe so sometimes you can be a little complacent in that but I absolutely think it's important to know what's going on all the time from a safety perspective, whether it's a weather issue or a public safety issue something the police are sending," Ford said.
Another element of the platform includes the option to input your family members names, ages and any medical information that may be important in the case of an emergency.
"So if you call 911 from your phone first responders can see this information. For example, you have a house fire and they can see the number of people you have in your home and they can make sure everyone was accounted for," Heffner said.
Whitestown police, fire and the town's public relations office will be sending alerts to the community. The weather alerts will come from the National Weather Service.
