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St. Louis County officials use app to keep community safe

Officials announced they will now be using the Next Door App to push out important information so it can reach people faster in certain areas.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY – Emergency management officials in St. Louis County have added a new way to keep their community safe, and it all starts with using your cell phone.

Officials announced Friday they will now be using the Next Door app to push out important information so it can reach people faster in certain areas.

Currently the app is being utilized by more than 3000 public agencies worldwide to communicate sensitive information.

Residents use the app to share information with each other and stay informed with what’s happening in their area. Traci Panus, public information officer for the Office of Emergency Management in St. Louis County, said they will start using Next Door to target specific neighborhoods, and push out information that will directly impact the people in those areas.

"Whether it’s regarding general safety tips or its training that we're having here at the emergency management center or if it’s an emergency regarding maybe some type of weather coming through.”

“That's the type of information we will be pushing out. It’s also important for the community to be prepared, they need to understand that if we do have some type of incident they may have to take care of themselves for the first 72 hours. If it’s a major incident police may not be able to get to them,” Panus said.

Currently, the city of St. Louis and multiple police departments already use the app and they display more crime sensitive information.

However, emergency management officials said this could potentially help with safety as it relates to natural disasters or other weather and hazardous related information.

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