We provide high-speed emergency notifications to ....
Municipalities, State Agencies, Federal Agencies, institutions of Higher Education, Schools, Industries, and Corporations.
The FirstCallEmergency Notification System is a fast, effective, and efficient method for delivering real-time alerts. We are a focused interactive multi-media emergency communications solution.
Instantly Notify Everyone by ....
Phone Cell SMS EmailInfo Line as well as by pagers, TTY/TTD devices, computer desktops, Windows Mobile devices and digital signage. The system can be activated over our secure website using any Internet connection or by calling our 24 hour operators from any phone.
How we provide alerts ....
Alerts are provided through our ∞infinity Emergency Notification Suite of services: Emergency Notification Service - Our battle tested service provides GIS map and / or Fixed List notification utilizing our web based or operator assisted user interface. BlurtAlert for Desktops - BlurtAlert will override the regular application and display real time, visible instant pop-up notification of alerts on all PC screens, Digital Signage, and Windows Mobile based phones. Inbound Community Information Line Service - An important tool that is an inbound toll free service, which allows emergency professionals the ability to provide the community with timely recorded information about emergencies occurring in an area.
Digital Signage Emergency Service - Selected features of the Blurt Desktop Alert for instant pop-up notification of alerts on Digital Signage and also has an easy to use content creation, content management, and High-Definition playback interface.
All of these services are integrated Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted solutions
How we are rated after bid evaluations compared to other vendors ...
The comparison scorecard chart below is based on the analysis of public data available in multiple public filings regarding RFP submittals.
Ask us for detailed analysis information about a notification company you might currently be considering. See why we consistently outpace other vendors.
FirstCall is dedicated to investing in R&D to bring new "First to Market" technology to our clients
Scorecard Chart
Maximum Points
FirstCall Network
Vendor 1
Vendor 2
Vendor 3
Vendor 4
Vendor 5
Vendor 6
35.00
30.27
27.20
24.94
21.34
22.40
21.34
19.86
8.00
6.44
5.92
5.87
4.71
4.71
4.71
4.09
10.00
8.05
7.40
7.33
5.89
5.89
5.89
5.11
4.00
3.22
2.96
2.93
2.35
2.35
2.35
2.05
3.00
2.42
2.22
2.20
1.77
1.77
1.77
1.53
10.00
8.05
7.40
7.33
5.89
5.89
5.89
5.11
30.00
26.10
2.61
5.22
23.36
19.58
10.44
19.58
100.00
84.56
62.51
62.06
70.63
66.85
57.71
62.30
The larger the number equals a better ranking score. For example: Pricing has 30 available points. A score for a vendor of 25 indicates a low cost bid price. A score of 30 is the benchmark and equals the lowest cost bid price.
FirstCall, the industry's pioneer, has experience, battle tested proven performance and a satisfied client base
Call us at 800-653-9232 to speak to a trained expert.
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Featured Partner Sirens FirstCall's partner for physical Mass Notification is McCord Communications who is uniquely qualified to provide your physical security public warning needs.McCord Communications represents a wide variety of products for Mass Notification Systems to accommodate almost every situation . Top quality in products and service is the approach we take to our business and that is reflected in the systems we design and all the work that we do.
Outdoor sirens and other warning devices can add security and help communities prepare for extreme weather and other possible dangers. McCord Communications offers high- powered voice and tone-only siren systems to meet your communities' needs. McCord Communications has over 15 years of system design, implementation, installation and maintenance of Whelen outdoor warning products.
One of the many examples ofFirstCall in Action will be when we protect the U.S. coast this year
Report for Firstcall clients - 3/27/09:
2009 - AccuWeather's Chief Long-Range and Hurricane Forecaster Joe Bastardi said the greatest risk this year may be to the U.S. East Coast, but a storm in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico could not be ruled out.
"I do think the Eastern Seaboard and the Canadian Maritimes will need to watch more than normal," Bastardi told Reuters. "The Gulf of Mexico is much less active than in the past, but that doesn't mean we can't get something together in the Gulf."
Bastardi's weather forecasts can have tremendous sway over U.S. energy market traders' outlook for national supply and demand.
Bastardi forecasts three of the storms striking the U.S. coast to be hurricanes with one a major hurricane packing winds of at least 111 miles per hour, rated as a category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Offshore production in the U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico provide a quarter of national crude oil supply and 15 percent of natural gas, while 43 percent of the country's refining capacity lies along the shores of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Among the factors forecast to reduce the number of storms is a weak El Nino weather pattern expected to form in the mid to late hurricane season, Bastardi said. El Nino weather patterns occur when water temperatures are warmer than normal in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. During an El Nino, Atlantic hurricane activity is reduced.
Stronger trade winds across northern Africa are forecast to increase dust and dry air blowing into the Atlantic, reducing temperatures where storms form.
Cooler water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic may reduce the number and intensity of storms, but those moving to the north and east may have more time to strengthen, he said.
For the entire Atlantic season, Bastardi predicts 13 named storms including eight hurricanes with two of those rated as major storms of category 3 or higher.
Colorado State University's Tropical Metrology Project issued a forecast at the end of December calling for 14 named storms including seven hurricanes three of which are expected to become category 3 or stronger.
News Release - San Antonio Selects FirstCall 2/12/2009 10:45 AM
FirstCall has been selected as the provider of Emergency Notification Services for San Antonio, TX.
These key features were recognized by San Antonio: (1) the ability to dynamically determine call capacity of the area to be notified; (2) the ability to provide instant feedback during the user registration process in regards to address confirmation (GIS popup for validating address); (3) live operators 24/7 for assistance with registration, notifications or other Emergency and Non-Emergency Notification System related issues; (4) rollover capability of unused minutes.
Call and tell us what threats you face and we will talk to you about how we have provided solutions for our clients. You benefit from our experience.
FirstCall in Action ... Hurricane Katrina FirstCall gave personalized attention to communities that were in some cases unable to be reinhabited for months. Our outbound Emergency Notification Service helped execute the largest evacuation in our country's history!
This is one of many examples of FirstCall in Action. We protect the coast of the Gulf of Mexico This is FirstCall in real, almost surreal action, handling the largest volume of calls in compressed period of time ever made. We were on the ground where there was not a single light on in a municipality, not just for days but, for months. We provided evacuation alerts before the storm for residents who when they returned home found 90% of their community was uninhabitable. Hurricane Katrina was a tragic event in American history. The sheer scope of the catastrophe was far beyond any other natural disaster that America had ever faced: Hurricane Katrina, its 115–130 mph winds, and the accompanying storm surge it created reached as high as 27 feet. Under the harshest conditions ever known on our soil, our clients received service and support that exceeds any known alert
Approximately 1,330 people died during Hurricane Katrina
FirstCall's Emergency Notification Service delivered evacuation orders so that towns and cities saved citizens from, as the Governor of Louisiana stated, "almost certain death"
Hurricane Katrina devastated far more residential property than any other recent hurricane, completely destroying or making uninhabitable an estimated 300,000 homes
FirstCall's Community Information Line allowed displaced residents to call in toll-free and hear from their local officials information regarding curfews, clean water, updates from utilities on service restoration, and the most important information for many residents ... you can return to your homes
FirstCall knows from over a decade of experience that the most effective response is one that starts at the local level and grows with the support of surrounding communities.
This approach yields the best and quickest results -- saving lives, protecting property and getting life back to normal as soon as possible.
Call us and tell us what threats you face and we will talk to you about how we have provided customized solutions for our clients
FirstCall in Action ...
The decision to move to FirstCall was precipitated by LSU’s former provider of emergency text messaging services no longer offering emergency notification services
When legacy system needs to be replaced, FirstCall gets the contract.
This is one of many examples of FirstCall in Action. We are the solution to Failsafe long term service
The FirstCall system was put on-line immediately.
LSU Chooses new Text Messaging Provider FirstCall becomes university’s official emergency messaging provider effective Oct. 1
BATON ROUGE, LA - September, 2008 -- “FirstCall is pleased to have been selected by LSU to provide a new quick, reliable and efficient emergency notification system to all students, faculty and staff,” said C.J. “Red” Delatte, executive vice president of FirstCall Network Inc.
Participation in the LSU Emergency Text Messaging System is not mandatory, but encouraged. There is no fee to subscribe, but participants will still have to pay regular text messaging rates through their cellular providers. Emergency text messaging is merely one of multiple communications channels utilized by the university in the event of an emergency. For more information on LSU’s emergency preparedness, please visit the following Web site: www.lsu.edu/safety.
The decision to move to FirstCall was precipitated by LSU’s former provider of emergency text messaging services no longer offering emergency notification services. FirstCall is a state-approved provider of emergency communications services, and is utilized by the Louisiana Board of Regents.
FirstCall in Action ...
The FirstCall Instant Emergency Alert Notification Network was activated relaying road closures, information on power outages and availability of relief supplies
Hardest Hit Gulf Coast Areas Continue to Depend on FirstCall to Reach Citizens Who Are Dispersed Due to Hurricane Ike
HOUSTON, TX - Sept 24, 2008 /PRnewswire release 2009 via COMTEX/ -- FirstCallEmergency Alert Notification Network, a major provider of emergency notification alerts, continues to assist municipalities, universities and industry with customized messages on recovery information and updates. FirstCall municipal clients are sending updates today to citizens. Universities and K-12 schools are updating students and parents. Petro-chemical clients are updating citizens and employees about restarting operations. The FirstCall Network is reaching storm-affected citizens wherever they are currently residing.
FirstCall delivered 1.4 million calls, text messages and other critical communication for clients regarding Hurricane Ike. "Saving lives and property is very serious business for FirstCall. As Hurricane Ike approached the Texas and Louisiana coasts, FirstCall stood ready and able to assist its Gulf Coast clients by issuing mandatory evacuation orders," said C. J. "Red" Delatte, Executive Vice President of FirstCall Network, Inc.
During and after the storm, FirstCall notified citizens of Hurricane Ike's projected path and provided orders to evacuate the area or locate to an emergency shelter. These time critical emergency alerts were, in some cases, potential life saving information issued by Federal, State and local governmental agencies, universities and the petro-chemical plants. Instant emergency notification also benefited first responders as the severity of Hurricane Ike's imminent danger became clear. The teams received the most up-to-date information possible, affording first responders precious extra time to stage in ready position.
The FirstCall Instant Emergency Alert Notification Network was activated by clients with updated messages relaying road closures, information on power outages, changes in curfew time, availability of relief supplies and when they can return back home.
FirstCall utilized 3 Network Operations Centers (NOC) to immediately transmit voice calls to home, work landlines and cell phones, text messages, email and other specialized communications. These included the fully redundant centers in Las Vegas, NV, Philadelphia, PA and the Louisiana center.
PRnewswire release 2009... Before and after the hurricane most of the hardest hit areas used FirstCall's Emergency Alert Notification Network including the Texas Counties of Galveston, Chambers, Orange, Hardin, Jefferson, Victoria, Liberty and the Louisiana Parishes including Calcasieu, St. Mary, Plaquemines and Iberia. In addition, the Southeast Texas Alerting Network (STAN) and EHCMA in Harris County, TX again used FirstCall's Inbound 800 number Hurricane Community Information hotline.
FirstCall Interactive Network is an emergency notification system utilized throughout the U.S. by Federal, State agencies and local municipalities, universities and industry. The FirstCall notification system is designed to protect lives and property in emergencies such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods and chemical releases. FirstCall's Emergency Notification System works with landline phones, cell phones, text messaging devices, email, pagers, TVs, PC screens and digital signage. FirstCall has provided nationally recognized high-speed emergency notifications for more than 10 years. FirstCall is the only emergency notification company with a director who is certified by both FEMA and IAEM, and has 20 years of experience in emergency management.
FirstCall in Action ... Jail escapee caught Four-hour manhunt ends with man's arrest just after 6 p.m. By Jayson Larson, Editor
Athens, TX - Feb 4, 2009 -- A Henderson County Jail trusty who escaped while on work detail Tuesday afternoon was apprehended at the West Hyland Apartments in Athens later in the evening.
Randall Louis McCoy, 31, was taken into custody at 6:09 p.m., ending a four-hour manhunt. McCoy has been held at the Henderson County Jail since November 2008 on a burglary charge.
Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt said a charge of escape has been filed against McCoy, as well.
Nutt said officers were ready to call off the search around 5:45 p.m., before receiving new information that led to McCoy's capture.
"Some citizens actually saw him coming out of the woods," Nutt said. "TDCJ got the dogs back out here and picked up on his scent and found him."
Just after 2 p.m., a county employee overseeing a trusty work crew brought the group back to the county shop building on Larkin Street before returning them to jail. McCoy reportedly asked to go to the restroom, then apparently walked away.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Jerry West said the trusty had been out on work details several times without incident.
After he went missing, multiple law enforcement agencies began working with each other in the search for McCoy. The search initially focused on the west and southwest portions of Athens, around Bunny Rabbit Road, Aaron Street and College Street. Once the TDCJ dogs arrived, the search headed west on the railroad tracks and across the Aaron Street railroad overpass.
At one point, officers received information that McCoy might have been headed much further east, but that lead came up empty. A short time later, the search was nearly called off. That's when someone spotted McCoy back around the West Hyland Apartments, where he had apparently gone and talked to a woman earlier in the afternoon after his escape.
Nutt said a new mass communication notification system, FirstCall, was used for the first time ever. FirstCall issued telephone calls to registered numbers within a 10-mile radius of the search area. The automated call notified nearby residents that a search was on for a suspect.
Nutt praised the work of the law enforcement agencies that worked together, including his own department, the Athens Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of Criminal Justice, along with various firefighters and constables as far east as Chandler who offered assistance.
"I can't say enough about 'em," Nutt said. "We just had a bunch of people helping."
Rich Flowers contributed to this report.
FirstCall in Action ... Escapee Arrested At Girlfriend’s Home, Girlfriend Arrested, Too
Copperas Cove, TX - Jan 30, 2009 -- Coryell County Jail inmate Jordan Pate, 26, who escaped around 1 p.m. Friday from a work detail in Copperas Cove was in custody about three hours later, and so was his girlfriend, at whose home deputies arrested Pate.
Kendra Renea Bennett, 33, was in the Coryell County Jail Friday evening, charged with hindering apprehension.
Pate escaped while with a work crew at the Salvation Army in Copperas Cove.
The Sheriff’s Office used the FirstCall Interactive Network to generate more than 11,000 phone calls to homes and businesses in a three-mail radius of the last place Pate was seen.
The alert generated phone tips including one that Pate was seen getting into a vehicle at the intersection of Urbantke and 9th Street in Copperas Cove in what the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office says was a pre-arranged escape attempt.
They traced Pate to the home of Bennett’s mother and arrested him there.
Deputies think another person picked Pate up and Coryell County Sheriff Burks said another arrest is expected.
Pate was originally held for probation violations in criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance cases.
He’s is now also facing an escape charge.
FirstCall in Action ...
Emergency Alert Notification system automatically called residents within a 15-block area and briefly explained the situation Carjacking suspect identified
Portland, OR - Jan 13, 2008 -- A 17-year-old carjacking suspect was arrested early Sunday after an extensive search in Northeast Portland.
Police said Tristan Kwame Irving ran from officers after he crashed into a barricade while fleeing officers Saturday night. Police said they believed Irving was armed with a handgun, and they mounted the high-powered manhunt that included dozens of officers, two police dogs and a small plane equipped with a Flir infrared camera.
One of the canine units found Irving about 2 a.m. hiding in an abandoned vehicle in the 5100 block of Northeast 14th Avenue, said Officer Catherine Kent, a Portland Police Bureau spokeswoman. No weapon was found. Irving was charged with eluding officers, menacing, reckless driving and hit-and-run driving. He was lodged at Donald E. Long Juvenile Home.
The city activated its FirstCall emergency notification system about 1 a.m. The program, automatically called residents within a 15-block area and briefly explains the situation.
Police investigators said Irving and the carjacking victim, who know each other, met at the Lloyd Center Cinemas parking lot Saturday evening. After arguing about the ownership of the victim's 1992 Chevrolet Blazer, Irving allegedly displayed a gun and took the vehicle. Not shots were fired and the victim was not injured.
Officers spotted the Blazer and followed it to Northeast Prescott Street and 14th Avenue. They tried to stop the car by turning the front of a police cruiser into the rear of the Blazer, Kent said. The Blazer kept going and crashed into a barrier on Northeast 14th Place where it dead-ends near Northeast Alberta Street.
Zachary Bowden was eating with a friend at the Tin Shed restaurant, 1438 N.E. Alberta St., when the stolen car sped by, followed by four police cars, and crashed into the barricade. "It was scary when all the cops jumped out and started cocking their weapons," Bowden said. "At this point, we were just thinking, 'This is serious.' "
Irving and another occupant got out and ran, police said. Irving apparently picked up the other person, who was not arrested, after commandeering the Blazer, Kent said.
-- Steve Mayes and Casey Parks
FirstCall in Action ...
Second time the FirstCall system in County, normally used to notify impending natural disasters, has been used in a missing person case Notification system helps find woman
SPARTANBURG CO, SC - Feb 2, 2007 -- A missing woman with a history of mental health problems was found in less than an hour Thursday afternoon with the help of Spartanburg County's FirstCall emergency notification system.
It's the second time the system, normally used to notify large numbers of people in specified areas of things like power outages and impending natural disasters, has been used in a missing person case.
Capt. Neal Urch of the Sheriff's Office said they normally use more orthodox techniques such as dog teams and helicopters to find vulnerable people who go missing.
Yet according to an incident report filed with the Sheriff's Office, 26-year-old Sally Wade, who disappeared at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after leaving the Midway Adult Residential Care Facility in Moore where she lives, had no coat, and the weather was dangerously cold. Although Wade was allowed to occasionally leave the facility to go to nearby stores, her mental state was considered "unstable," and she was on several medications for a "schizoaffective disorder."
As officers continued to physically search for Wade Thursday morning, Capt. Urch said he made the decision to use the emergency notification system at 11:30 a.m.
By 11:31 a.m., said Jason Watson, a shift supervisor at Spartanburg County 911, 11,947 calls had been made to residences within a ten-mile radius of where Wade had last been seen on the corner of Reidville Road and Highway 290.
A 45-second recording indicated Wade's name, age, height, weight, and the details surrounding her disappearance.
At 12:10 p.m., after four callers to 911 reported seeing her in the parking lot of The Beacon, officers found Wade at the corner of Norris Street and Concord Avenue in Spartanburg. "I would credit (the emergency notification system) for being able to find this woman so fast," said Capt. Urch.
Wade has been returned to Midway. Urch said Wade's family is currently considering moving her to a facility with more restrictions.
"The results of this search speak for themselves," said Doug Bryson, director of the Spartanburg County office of emergency management, who implemented the emergency notification system in 2005. "We were able to get a message out fast."
Capt. Urch said the Sheriff's Office could possibly start using the system on a regular basis, but cautioned against "overuse."
"We'd only want to use it for vulnerable adults or as a kind of local Amber alert for missing kids," Urch said, each missing person case must be evaluated individually.
Law enforcement officials first used the emergency notification system January 19 when 79-year-old dementia sufferer Barbara Louise Jones wandered from Rosewood Assisted Living in Pauline.
That afternoon 28,000 calls went. Officers found Jones early the next morning.
Mc
Cord Communications represents a wide variety of products for Mass Notification Systems to accommodate almost every situation . Top quality in products and service is the approach we take to our business and that is reflected in the systems we design and all the work that we do. 
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