OMAHA (KPTM) - The Colorado shooting is a stark reminder that tragedy can happen anywhere. That's why one local company wants to spread its services when disaster strikes.
Civil Dispatch is an emergency communications system that allows anyone to receive alerts about what's happening in the city. It also provides advice on what to do in a state of terror.
"It's a pretty powerful system and a lot of civilians would never think that they could use a service like that or they might not need it in case of an emergency. But, we're finding uses all over that we never thought people would want to use it for newsletters," said Brad Nietfeldt, founder of Civil Dispatch.
The focus of Civil Dispatch is simply to create awareness. Its goal is to spread its services all over the state, from every mall to every rural government, to keep you and your family safe.
"If my child was missing, I would want to know everybody had a picture of my child. On their device they could be looking for them rather than just hearing about it on the radio or seeing it on a interstate sign," said Nietfeldt.
Devastation from the deadly Millard South shooting a year and a half ago opened Nietfeldt's eyes.
"That was one of the biggest reasons that I decided to push to getting this open in 2012. Because we sat here literally blocks away from it happening and know that you're sitting on the technology, but you can't use it to help anybody kind of hit close to home," he said.
Civil Dispatch can be connected to just about everything from mobile devices, to ham radios.
"You're not limited to devices. You could use a smart phone, set an email, update a web site, do a text to land line. There's dozens of communication systems out there. We made Civil Dispatch to be a universal system," said Nietfeldt.
But most important, to help people stay safe and alert for the unexpected. The system has grown through ideas from the public and the company says it welcomes all opinions to make improvements.
Source: Franque Thompson