PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Inside the Pittsfield Mayor's office the phoes were ringing off the hook Friday after a new emergency alert system was being tested throughout the city.
Susan Santolin, who works in the Mayor's office, said they received around 100 phone calls regarding questions about the city's new code-red system.
Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn says it would have taken eight hours to make the number of calls the system made in 30 minutes Friday morning, saving the department a lot of time and frustration in the future.
The City of Pittsfield has about 42,000-43,000 people, according to the mayor's office, and as of now nearly half of those people are on the code-red list.
Santolin explained if there is a child missing, for example, you can send out a message or call to a specific neighborhood.
"It's a service that enhances our ability to connect with citizens," Mayor Dan Bianci said.
It is a needed change since the city has not had an emergency system in place for the past few years.
To sign up for the code-red alerts visit www.pittsfieldpd.org and sign up for the notification service.
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