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| Have you used the Suggestion Box? | Town of Franklin MA |
October 15,2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Franklin, Massachusetts): On Sunday October 11, 2020 the Franklin Police Department had an incident in which a Reverse 911 telephone call from the Franklin system was sent. The message asked residents to shelter in place.
As resources arrived on the scene it became clear that many people had not received the message. This could be because the Franklin Reverse 911 system is a an "opt in" system. This means you must sign up to receive notifications.
Given the seriousness of the situation, a man shooting a gun in the open, the risk to innocent people was greatly heightened. Because of this, a second resource from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) was called upon. This system utilizes "Geo Fencing", which attempts to send wireless messages to mobile devices inside a defined area.
For an unknown technical reason, some of these messages were delivered to communities outside of Franklin. This problem is being investigated in the hope of avoiding problems in the future. Safety for the public and officers is at the center of every decision made.
As with all incidents lessons are learned. In the future when utilizing resources from outside agencies, such as MEMA, we will be more specific in identifying the Town, and area effected in the message itself.
We apologize for any worry that was created, and the disruptions to the Police Departments in those communities.
As a reminder to Franklin residents, you may sign up for our alert system here: franklintown.regroup.com/signup
Town of Franklin, MA: Errant Reverse 911 notifications
From the Milford Daily News, an article of interest for Franklin:
"Staff at the Franklin Public Library will return to work on Saturday after being sent home Wednesday morning due to a possible exposure of COVID-19, town officials said in a press release Wednesday night.
In consultation with the Board of Health, the library decided to send staff members home on Wednesday morning out of an abundance of caution, town officials said. In the meantime, crews were expected to be on-site to disinfect the entire library building and, if necessary, staff will be encouraged to take a COVID-19 test and quarantine.
“Since the library has not yet been open to the public, we are confident that Franklin residents have not been exposed to the virus and the town continues to remain confident we can reopen the library on Nov. 9 as we are planning,” town officials said.
The library plans to reopen for curbside pickup and other services on Monday. The library has been closed to the public since March due to the coronavirus and has been offering curbside pickup since May. Curbside pickup is offered Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the vestibule of the entrance at the top of the parking lot ramp."
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| reopen for curbside pickup and other services on Monday |
"There is increasing clarity as to who sent a shelter-in-place alert on Sunday that was sent to many communities around Franklin.
The alert was sent to several communities using a geo fencing process by Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Franklin police said they sent the alert to those who signed up for Reverse 911. However, because its system only sends alerts to those who sign up for it, a second “resource” sent out a similar message.
MEMA sent out the second alert, which went to several communities, including non-neighboring towns Mendon and Milford, which weren’t part of the shelter-in-place order, that was similar to the message Franklin
The MEMA system uses something called “geofencing,” which sends wireless messages to mobile devices in a defined area."
From the Milford Daily News, an article of interest for Franklin:
"Police from Franklin sent out a Reverse 911 on Sunday ordering residents to “shelter-in-place” during a standoff with an armed man who fired at police officers.
Although that is not an unusual move, what happened afterward was. The order was also sent to residents in several other nearby communities, including Milford, Blackstone, Mendon, Wrentham, North Attleboro and Walpole.
How that happened is a mystery, according to Franklin police Sgt. Brian Johnson."
The man who authorities say fired several shots at police officers during an armed standoff at the Spruce Pond condominium complex on Sunday is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Wrentham District Court.
Police filed charges against Thomas E. McManus, 53, of 46 Quince Landing, related to the incident on Sunday.
Police charged McManus with six counts of armed assault to murder with a firearm; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery on a police officer; discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling; disorderly conduct; disturbing the peace; and three counts of vandalizing property.
"Reminder: The Franklin Reverse 911 notification system is an "OPT IN" system. You must sign up for notifications. We do not have everyone's home and mobile phone numbers.
Free and easy to sign up": https://franklintown.regroup.com/signup
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| Franklin Police Business Line experiencing an outage |
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| Facebook photo for MECC https://www.facebook.com/meccdispatch/?nr |
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| [Franklin Residents] 911 Outages |
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