Windham residents can provide information to assist in emergencies with Community Connect

By Dina Mendros

When disaster strikes, whether it be fire or a loved one having a medical emergency, providing important information about your property or other matters may be the last thing on your mind. Now, a new program that Windham residents and business owners can sign up for will provide that information for emergency responders ahead of time so they can know how best to enter a home, who to contact, and any special concerns.

Windham firefighters assist at a structure fire earlier 
this year. Under a new program called Community
Connect, Windham Fire & Rescue crews can receive
vital information about residents and the property
during an emergency situation. COURTESY PHOTO    

“Community Connect is a secure online portal that connects directly to the software program we use for pre-planning, response and incident reporting,” Windham Fire Chief Brent Libby said. “Residents and businesses can create a login and submit information that may pertain to their property like contact information, specific access instructions, special instructions or information about the property or those who occupy the property like needs for the elderly, children, etc.”

Crews can access the information when en route or when they arrive on scene to assist emergency responders to provide good customer service and care, Libby said. “With this information added,” he said, “it can help provide piece of mind for property owners that we will have important information. It will also allow them to be notified if a call has been generated to their address.”

“Most specifically,” Libby said, “we are hoping it will help us to check in on elderly or home-bound folks in critical weather events or other serious incidents. … The goal being to assist those that may need extra assistance in the time of a natural disaster or emergency.”

Community Connect is a brand new program for Windham so it’s too early to tell whether it will be received by the public. Libby said he’s hopeful many Windham property owners will sign up. He noted that participating in Community Connect is relatively easy and people can add as much or as little information as they’d like.

To sign up, go to the website: https://www.communityconnect.io/info/me-windham and then it’s simply a three-step process which consists of first creating a free account by inputting an email address, phone number and address; then enter valuable information that can assist public safety personnel respond more effectively during an emergency; finally make updates to the account as needed so first responders are always prepared.

Whether one is a homeowner or a business owner, there is a variety of information that can be entered to increase chances of a positive outcome during an emergency.

For homeowners, information about who lives there and how to contact them, whether anyone has mobility issues or other medical conditions and information about pets can all be entered to an account to help first responders know what to look for when rolling out to someone’s home.

That same information can be entered for businesses but additional information like, where are the access points, are their elevators and other pertinent business features can be entered into their account. Information on whether there is hazardous material and the location of fire protection systems on the premises would also be helpful to those responding.

In addition to providing information for firefighters and/or paramedics, there is also a function that could help the public in the event of more widespread emergency. “There is a notification feature that could be rolled out in the near future for emergency or regular public safety information notifications,” Libby said.

For those worried about the security of their personal information, Libby assured that “this is a secured website. … It is (linked) with our secured website that we use for all out inventory, pre-planning, response and reporting system. When there is an incident at the location, it will show us that additional information is available through Community Connect.”

For further information or to sign up, go to the website https://www.communityconnect.io/info/me-windham. <