Local emergency alert system lacking

“The federal jurisdiction is involved, the state and locals, and so managing all those various resources is very complicated,” said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

Dyer says there's a system in place for different agencies to communicate with each other locally, but reaching out to residents isn't as advanced.

“Through the [Emergency Alert System] we can get a message through across television channels but also through the radio stations and it is an immediate way of sending a message,” said Beth Brown, Fresno’s Emergency Manager.

Brown admits our area is behind the times.  Many cities across the country, including Boston, have a better system that can call or email emergency information.

“You say if you want to find out about a traffic problem, if there's a school closure, an emergency, whatever it is you pick to choose to hear about,” said Brown.

The main thing holding Fresno back is the expense of purchasing the program. 

As a nation watches the situation unfold in Boston, local officials try to learn from what's being done right and what could be improved.

“For law enforcement, for fire personnel, debriefings so they can talk about lessons learned and that is so important,” said Dyer.

Local schools have programs that can call parents out in the event of an emergency.  There is no timeline for when a similar program could be implemented countywide.