The Adams County Communication Center (ADCOM 911) is encouraging county residents to register their landlines and cell phones for emergency alerts from its free emergency notification service on the heels of the state’s intense fire season.

“A lot of people no longer have landlines and have opted to go with a cell phone and make that one payment,” said Yvette Miles, ADCOM 911 system administrator. “The problem with that is that cell phone companies don’t give out that information, so that there’s no way for us to get a hold of them in an emergency information unless they register their cell phones.”

The FirstCall emergency notification system, which sends out automated text messages or calls to landlines or cell phones, was first instituted by the county in Oct. 2011. Since then, Miles said only about 500 of the 440,000 residents served by the communication center signed up.

Adams County provides the $45,000 service in partnership with ADCOM 911 to home landline phone numbers for residents of Bennett, Brighton, Commerce City, Northglenn and unincorporated Adams County, including residents in the Adams County portion of Strasburg.

Residents can choose to receive e-mails, text messages or cell phone calls they register. Alerts can also be sent to cell phones, but residents must register via FirstCall at: https://alertregistration.com/adamscountyco.

Miles said the Commerce City-based nonprofit police, fire and emergency medical services center provides the same FirstCall services used in the Lower North Fork fire, which sends out emergency notifications from 10 county police departments and fire protection districts.

Although these systems were particularly useful in evacuating people from a fire’s path in recent months, she said the service is also used for other emergencies, such as weather notifications, animal dangers and high-risk crimes.

Law enforcement offices and fire protection districts served by ADCOM 911 includes: the Adams County Sheriff Office; Brighton, Commerce City and Northglenn police departments; Southwest Adams County and South Adams County Fire Protection districts; North Washington and Greater Brighton Fire Departments; and North Metro and Bennett Fire Rescue departments.

Some Adams County municipalities support their own independent notification systems including Arvada, Aurora, Federal Heights, Thornton and Westminster.