Crime & Safety

In Vegas, Holliston Chief Talks Blackboard Connect System

System notifies community about emergency situations, information.

On July 17, Holliston Fire Chief Michael Cassidy delivered a workshop at Blackboard World. Once a year, Blackboard Inc. hosts Bb World®, the premier training, networking, and professional development event for Blackboard users from around the globe. 

This year’s conference was held at the Venetian & Palazzo Resorts in Las Vegas, and is being attended by over 2,500 peers, experts and partners.  Chief Cassidy’s presentation “Emergency Notification and Community Outreach Following Tropical Storm Irene” covered the implementation of the Blackboard Connect multi-modal service in January 2011, and its use by town officials following Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011.

The presentation also included lessons learned, which have been incorporated into the town’s use of the Blackboard Connect system in subsequent years.  

Holliston implemented the Blackboard Connect platform so that town officials can directly notify, update and provide direction to the community in an efficient, timely manner, should a need arise. Using the Blackboard Connect platform, officials can record, send and track personalized voice messages to home phones, businesses, local agencies, and mobile phones in just minutes, through a single phone call. The service also sends e-mail, text messages (SMS) to mobile phones, and messages to TTY/TDD devices for people who are hearing impaired. 

In addition to weather and storm related notifications, town officials also use the BlackboardConnect system to notify residents of important safety matters, such as suspicious activity in their neighborhood, or missing persons, helping to keep everyone informed.  Those who wish to add additional phone numbers or email addresses to their profile are encouraged to click on theBlackboard™ icon on the town’s website (townofholliston.us) or either of the town’s public safety websites (hollistonfire.com or hollistopolice.com).  

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When speaking of the community notification system, Chief Cassidy, who also serves as the town’s Emergency Management Director, said “it is important we have a system in place that allows us to send timely information to residents quickly and efficiently.” 

Submitted by the Holliston Fire Department.

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