Police Radio Station on Air, Set for Emergency

After extensive testing, the Police Department’s emergency broadcast station is on the air.

Found at 1640-AM within the city limits, the station plays a prerecorded message about what to listen for in times of emergency.

In cases of earthquake, chemical spill, fire, flood or other disaster, the station will broadcast both live and prerecorded messages concerning what residents should do, Police Cmdr. Gene Norden said.

The system will relieve 911 operators by reaching the whole city at once, he added.

“Residents don’t have to make phone calls, and we can reach the entire population, and that’s more effective,” he said. “It’s also available to the motoring public.”

In previous disasters, Norden said, the city set up phone banks, which often rang busy. The new system, he said, is more efficient.

The station, approved by the City Council, is part of the federal government’s Emergency Broadcast System, which uses radio and TV stations to transmit information to the public.

In 1977, the Federal Communications Commission authorized a radio license to allow local, state and federal authorities to communicate with motorists via car radio. The system can operate at either end of the standard AM broadcast band, commonly at 530, 1610 and 1640.