During an emergency situation having instant access to the most reliable, up-to-date information available can mean the difference between life and death.
In an effort to ensure Oxford Township and Village residents are adequately informed during any and all emergencies, officials created the “Oxford Emergency Information Hotline.”
Township Supervisor Bill Dunn explained that in the near future, whenever local emergencies arise – such as boil water notices, water contamination, power outages, severe storms, hazardous substance spills, etc. – residents will be able to dial 248-628-9911 and listen to a pre-recorded message containing information relevant to the situation.
The supervisor said the hotline number was specifically selected because of its similarity to the emergency number 9-1-1, thus making it easier for residents to remember.
“It’s a pretty neat idea,” he said, noting the Communications Committee of the Oxford Preparedness Task Force came up with the hotline concept. “It’s something that will benefit the whole community, township and village.”
Depending on the nature of the emergency, “up to 10 minutes” worth of information can be recorded on the hotline’s message, Dunn said.
“It will contain information about what’s going on, instructions telling people what to do or what not to do, estimates on how long the situation’s going to last and anything else we feel our residents need to know to stay safe and secure,” the supervisor said.
“The hotline will also help us inform residents when there’s a false alarm, like when the air raid sirents kept going off (due to malfunctions),” he added.
Dunn stressed that this hotline is “strictly for information purposes only.” Residents will not be able to leave messages or talk to a live person.
The supervisor said up to five people will be able to call the hotline at the same time and every caller will hear the pre-recorded message in its entirety, from the beginning.
“No one’s going to call in at the middle of (the message) and have to wait for it to cycle through again,” Dunn said.
Maintaining the hotline, which was installed Monday at the fire department’s main station on M-24, will cost $41.55 per month ($498.60 per year), Dunn said.
The township board voted last week to pay the entire cost using monies from its General Fund, which both township and village residents pay into.
Although all the “protocols and procedures” concerning the hotline’s operation have yet to be formally established, Dunn said “tentative plans” call for Oxford Village Dispatch to handle recording the emergency messages when needed.
“I’m all for it,” said Head Dispatcher Tony VanHouten, noting the hotline should help “cut down” on the volume of unnecessary calls during an emergency situation.
Instead of calling village dispatchers to obtain information, township and village residents will be able to phone the hotline directly, he explained.
This will enable dispatchers to handle genuine emergency calls faster and more efficiently, VanHouten said.
Manager Mark Slown called the hotline a “public service.”