https://twitter.com/gloucesterfire/status/1105856852326313986

GLOUCESTER — Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Police Chief John McCarthy, Fire Chief Eric Smith, and Assistant Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Joe Aiello are encouraging residents to sign up for mobile safety notifications and create a profile through the city’s emergency alert system.

Gloucester Emergency Alerts, powered by Smart911, is the official emergency notification system used by the city to communicate with residents and business owners during a range of emergencies.

Smart911 is a free service that allows residents to sign up online to create a profile that will provide vital information to 911 call takers during an emergency — allowing first responders to make faster and more informed responses. People who live and work in Gloucester can add relevant information to their profile, including the number of people and pets living in a household or working at a business, what those people and pets look like, relevant medical conditions and allergies, and emergency contacts.

The system also allows participants to receive emergency notifications in real time. Emergency alerts are used to notify residents of a variety of situations, including power outages, evacuations, lock down situations, water advisories and road closures.

“I encourage all Gloucester residents to sign up for Smart911 Alerts,” Mayor Theken said. “By utilizing this technology, residents are able to receive important notifications while providing essential information that is needed to best help during an emergency situation. Stay informed. Take advantage of this safety tool and sign up today.”

Gloucester Emergency Alerts also issues advisories to residents for amber alerts, missing person alerts, snow, flooding, traffic, weather warnings and beach alerts.

“This safety alert system could truly save lives, and it only takes a few minutes to sign up online,” Fire Chief Smith said. “Knowing how many people, and pets, live in a household in the event of a fire is a huge help to first responders. Being aware of medical conditions can help us provide the best possible care in an emergency. This system is a great asset to our city’s safety– let’s use it to its full potential.”

Residents can sign up to receive mobile alerts and create a safety profile for their household by clicking here.

Another sign that spring is near: Down River Ice Cream opening this weekend (Sat Mar 16 at noon) and White Farms in Ipswich opening March 15. I do not know what that means for the Gloucester location of White Farms. No sign posted yet.

Getting taken for ice cream when we were kids was a big treat as it involved a 20 minute drive with 6 kids. I think our dad took us to give Mom some peace for a bit. We would usually get soft twists (chocolate for me, why bother with vanilla?) but today I prefer hard ice cream. Now there are all kinds of ways to have soft twist ice cream….it’s a wonderful world.

Just so you know, Corliss Brothers isn’t taking any……..manure.