City of Camarillo DART

A first-responder support team increases emergency response effectiveness by 80% using the 3n mass notification system

The City of Camarillo's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is a volunteer organization funded by the City of Camarillo. DART is also a first-responder support organization for the Ventura County Fire Department and Sheriff's Department. DART's mission is to assist the City of Camarillo and Ventura County local law enforcement and emergency personnel in times of general need, emergency, and declared disaster.

Challenges

Prior to 3n, the City of Camarillo used an inefficient and unreliable pager-centric notification system to engage DART volunteers to respond to emergencies and other needs. This pager-centric notification system posed a few challenges:

• Single point of failure. The complete reliance on pagers as the only contact path represented a single point of failure, which was exacerbated by the fact that volunteers would frequently lose their pagers.
• Missed messages. Roughly 50% of all messages sent through this pager-centric system never reached the intended recipients.
• No visibility into broadcast results. The system also provided no way of tracking and identifying exactly who had received the message.

Solution

After evaluating several mass notification systems, DART selected 3n to provide the team with a quick and reliable solution for its notification needs. The 3n mass notification system's use of multiple contact paths as a way to ensure a higher message completion rate and the system's delivery confirmation functionality were key differentiators for DART.

On a number of occasions, the 3n mass notification system has been used to assist during emergency situations. For example, throughout the heavy rains in Southern California in late 2004 and early 2005, DART activated the 3n system to keep people informed of events as they occurred, including a major landslide and the monitoring of canals and creeks overflowing their banks. In other crises, such as the recovery of missing persons and urban search and rescue, DART has made use of the system to rally its members and transmit meeting instructions.

“We know the 3n notification system is reliable and that provides an immense amount of reassurance during a crisis. Now we can focus on resolving the emergency situation and not spend time on unnecessary efforts like our communications system.”
— Dale DeHart, DART team leader

Results

• Dramatic increase in emergency response effectiveness. Since implementing the 3n mass notification system, message confirmations and responses have soared to an average of 90%. 3n's message delivery tracking capabilities have dramatically increased the system's value, effectiveness, and performance in meeting DART's needs.
• Operational efficiencies. The 3n mass notification system has also improved the efficiency of DART's operational processes by sending routine team meeting instructions, promoting City of Camarillo events, and other daily communications.