Saco Police have launched a new program for local residents who want to be directly informed by public safety officials in the event of an emergency.

The notification system, called CodeRED, allows officials to send urgent messages to residents and businesses who participate in the event of emergencies such as “severe weather events or threats to public safety,” according to a statement released this week.

While the system is based on an existing telephone database, anyone who wishes to participate is encouraged to register by visiting www.sacomaine.org/emergencyalerts. Residents can also visit the Saco Police Department or the city administrator’s office to get a paper form for registration, if needed.

“We encourage all businesses and residents to register,” Saco Police Chief Jack Clements said in a statement. “We don’t want anyone to assume their number is already included and potentially miss out on important alerts during emergencies.” 

When registering, participants can choose how they want to be notified – via text message, email, phone call or mobile app notification. Emergency messages via phone will come from number 206-536-3695, by text message from number 24639 and via email from an address with the domain @notify.onsolve.net.