KANNAPOLIS —  The Kannapolis Fire Department encourages the public to sign up for the new Community Connect Program. This free program allows residents and business owners to share valuable information that may be needed by firefighters in the case of an emergency. The public can register their information online.

Residents can provide details about their home, family members, pets, medical needs and more. If there is an emergency call to the home, firefighters will be able to access the information as they are on their way to the scene enabling them to be better prepared to assist.

For example, you register your home located at 123 Main Street and give us the information, that your elderly mom is typically in the back bedroom with two pets. An emergency happens and you call 911 – upon arrival firefighters will be able to assess if everyone is out of the house or if they need to immediately access the back bedroom.

“Giving our residents and business owners the ability to share their specific characteristics and critical needs will allow us to get a snapshot of their situation before we even arrive. In our business, every second counts so to have this tool is an absolute game-changer. The data captured by Community Connect will allow our personnel to customize their approach to every emergency,” said Kannapolis Fire Chief Tracy Winecoff.  “We do need your help. We need you to go to our website and enter your information. If you do not submit the information – we have no other way to receive it.”

Business owners can provide similar information about their location.

The opportunity to sign up for Community Connect is free and your information is valid for a six-months. Every six months you will receive email notifications asking you to update the information or you will be removed from the database. This ensures the information is current in case you move, your family or business status changes, and so forth.

Community Connect is a secure platform and information the public provides will only be used for the purpose of providing assistance, during emergency situations. All logins and passwords are protected.

To learn more about the program and to register your household or business, visit Enews & Emergency Alerts (kannapolisnc.gov) (www.kannapolis.nc.gov/e-news-Emergency-Alerts).

You can also register for the City’s Reverse 911 system and an Email Newsletter at this link.