Houston Government Partnership Launches Secure Public Safety Alert Network

May 21, 2008, News Report

Found in: Public Safety / Justice

The Greater Houston Transportation and Emergency Management Center, also known as Houston TranStar, has launched an emergency notification system built on the Roam Secure Alert Network (RSAN) from Cooper Notification. Using this network, transportation and emergency management personnel in greater Houston can now quickly and reliably communicate and collaborate via email, text messaging and other channels.

Houston TranStar is a partnership of four government agencies responsible for coordinating the planning, design and operations of transportation and emergency management in the greater Houston region. Houston TranStar officials can use RSAN for interagency notifications of localized roadway flooding, chemical plant explosions or public transit route diversions.

"Priority one for Harris County is providing for the public safety of its more than 3.8 million diverse residents who live throughout its 1,728 square miles," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, director of Harris County's Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. "RSAN is among our newest resources to help meet our goal of robust communications with all our public and private sector partners during any disaster so that critical decisions are made with the best possible information in hand." Harris County Judge Ed Emmett serves as. RSAN^TM will also be used internally for transit issues by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) to improve communication with individual bus drivers.

Over 180 RSAN systems are currently operating across the country at local, state and federal government agencies, schools, hospitals, refineries and other key businesses. Houston is the seventh major U.S. city to implement the RSAN system for emergency communications.

Cooper Notification's patent-pending Roam Secure Information Exchange (RSIX) allows Houston TranStar to securely connect and share information in the event of an emergency, such as severe weather, with public safety personnel using RSAN systems in major cities across the country including Baltimore, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, DC.