- City officials statewide are urging residents to sign up for emergency alerts after Saturday's explosion in Herriman.
- Many in Herriman missed evacuation notices since the city's emergency alert system is opt-in.
- Officials emphasize signing up is quick, easy and can be lifesaving in emergencies.
HERRIMAN — When the Domino's Pizza store exploded in Herriman Saturday night, evacuation notices were sent to people living within a mile of the blast.
First responders were worried about the gas line still leaking from a car that had crashed into it with flames continuing to spread.
But not everyone got the message.
That's because Herriman's emergency alert system, like many others across Utah, is opt-in, meaning residents have to sign up to receive notifications.
"We're constantly trying to push that out there, to sign up for these notifications for when these types of things happen," said Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer.
As emergency crews responded to the initial fire and then explosion, messages were sent to residents with information on what happened and what those who lived near the incident should do.
However, the confusion quickly showed up online.
Several residents turned to a Herriman community Facebook page, asking if they needed to evacuate.
"I'm only 0.6 miles away but haven't gotten a text or anything. Should I still evacuate?" one person wrote.
Another asked, "Do we still need to evacuate? Or just stay home??"
And another: "How do I know if my family and I should evacuate?? Will someone come to our door?"
Many encouraged others to sign up for alerts, and those who received the messages shared them on that page.
"Where did you sign up to receive notifications?" another commenter asked.
Palmer said the city acted quickly to the disaster but urged people who haven't signed up to receive alerts to do so before future emergencies.
"Absolutely. It's critical in these situations to be able to reach the right people as quickly as possible," said Palmer. "That's why we have to have you go in and opt in, so you've got that cell number tied to that address, and that's what we need."
This isn't unique to Herriman.
Many cities and counties in Utah use a similar emergency notification system.
Barb Smith, the communications director for Sandy City, said it's easy to sign up, and it could be lifesaving.
"They do need to sign up to get the alerts," Smith said.
She demonstrated how residents can sign up in less than five minutes, choose the type of alerts they want and how they want to receive them.
"And I will text you, I will robo-call you, or I will email you or I will do all three," said Smith. "But I need to know what your address is so I can geotarget you if there's a situation right in your neighborhood. And I also need to know what your phone number is, because I can't reach you without it."
Smith also showed how those who sign up for alerts can receive them in several different languages.
With fewer people using landlines these days, officials say cellphone-based alerts are more important than ever.
"That's why we have to have you go in and opt in, so you've got that cell number tied to that address, and that's what we need," said Palmer.
Visit your city's or county's website to learn more about how to sign up for emergency alerts.
