Friday April 26, 2024
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As fans plan for another Derby Season, Louisville Metro Emergency Services is offering a text message alert system for residents and visitors. LENSAlert, the Louisville Emergency Notification System, offers a text message sign up which will provide event goers real time notifications in the instance of an emergency. To sign up for notifications for any event throughout the Derby Season, just text “Derby” to 67283.
Should an incident occur, text message notifications are sent from MetroSafe, Louisville’s 911 Communications Center. MetroSafe stays in constant communication with the Incident Command System, the Emergency Operations Center, first responders, and LMPD’s Real Time Crime Center and maintains a high level of situational awareness during all events.
Attendees are encouraged to text “Derby” to 67283 prior to attending events, but you can sign up for the service at any point in time. If you are already signed up for LENSAlert, you can elect to receive event specific notifications through your safety profile, which can be accessed anytime at smart911.com.
Emergency Services Director Jody Meiman states, “We expect a safe and secure Derby Season and are doing everything we can to be prepared, including offering text alerts for the public. LENSAlert is meant to communicate emergency information only and will be the trusted source of information should a major incident occur.
Louisville Metro has joined the nationwide “Smart911” service, which allows residents, businesses, and visitors to provide information to 9-1-1 dispatchers in advance of emergencies.
The free Smart911 service allows individuals and businesses to create online safety profiles with home, workplace, mobile phone numbers, along with additional information that would be valuable to 911 operators and first responders during an emergency. This information often includes home or work addresses, details about medical conditions, pets, and emergency contacts. Users are prompted to update their safety profiles every six months to ensure their information remains accurate.
Smart911 safety profiles are kept confidential and secure, and are only available to trained 911 operators in participating 9-1-1 centers across the country. This allows dispatchers to access profile information for traveling mobile phone users, and makes it easy for landline customers to update profiles with new numbers after moving.
Residents can sign up for LENSAlert and complete their Smart911 safety profile by visiting louisvilleky.gov and clicking on “Sign up for emergency alerts.” A simple way to sign up on your smartphone is to text “LENSAlert” to 67283 – this will automatically opt you in to emergency alerts and a link will be sent in a text message to complete your safety profile.
Louisville Metro Emergency Services Officials are providing attendees of Derby Week events with a new safety tool designed to provide an additional layer of safety and security to measures already in place surrounding the Pegasus Parade, the Kentucky Derby Festival events, the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.
LENSAlert now allows citizens and visitors to text predetermined keywords to sign up for alerts at major events in the city. The system provides real time alerts and notifications and will inform event attendees of severe weather, hazardous material incidents and other emergencies.
Attendees are encouraged to Opt-In prior to the event, by texting to 67283 and using one of the keywords below:
Keyword / Event
Parade – for notifications at the Pegasus Parade
Festival – for notifications at any Kentucky Derby Festival event
Oaks – for notifications at the Kentucky Oaks
Derby – for notifications at the Kentucky Derby
DerbyWeek – to sign up for all of the above at once
Emergency Services Director Jody Meiman states, “Use of LENSAlert’s Opt-In feature will be coordinated through the Incident Management System from the Emergency Operations Center and is meant to communicate emergency information only and will be the trusted source of information should a major incident occur. We expect a safe and secure Derby Week but based on events that are occurring around the world, we would be remiss if we did not use tools such as LENSAlert to assist in safely securing the public.”
In the event of a major incident, Emergency Services, the Kentucky Derby Festival and Louisville Metro Police Department will post a LENSAlert Opt-In graphic on social media in order to direct inquiries to the LENSAlert Opt-In feature.
