US county deploys emergency VoIP system

A new emergency notification system which uses VoIP solutions has been installed in a US county.

Spokane County, in Washington, has adopted the ALERT Spokane system which will tell local residents of any local emergency via VoIP, email and traditional call networks, reports The Spokesman Review.

Around 7,500 messages can be delivered in an hour, potentially allowing the authority to contact nearly every household in a three-square-mile area within that time.

It was recently used to alert residents that a rogue gunman was on the loose in the town of Northwood.

ALERT Spokane notified 98 residents close to the man's location of the nature of the incident, enabling them to stay safely in their homes.

The $66,000 (£43,000) system was purchased with a grant awarded to the authority by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

It follows the installation of a similar system in Oregon-based Clackamas County earlier this month.