Florence is taking steps to strengthen how local emergency information reaches residents.

Recently, the town rolled out two key initiatives. The first is rebranding the local emergency alert system as the Florence Alert Network.

Second, the town launched a text message campaign to help residents confirm or adjust their emergency alert preferences.

Florence has a long-standing partnership with Pinal County to provide emergency alerts to residents. Currently, the county provides emergency notifications through the Genasys Alerts system, which serves communities across Pinal County.

Through Genasys, county residents can sign up for the Pinal Emergency Notification System to receive regional alerts regarding severe weather, wildfires and other critical situations where life or property may be threatened.

In addition to PENS, Florence uses the Genasys system to distribute town-specific alerts regarding traffic accidents, road closures, water outages or critical public safety alerts.

“Previously, Florence’s alert system was referred to as Genasys or the Florence PENS system, but this similarity in naming caused some confusion with the county’s alert system. To provide clarity, Florence is rebranding its system as the Florence Alert Network to help residents easily distinguish the two systems and ensure they are registered to receive the most relevant updates,” according to a town press release.

In conjunction with this rebranding, the town launched a text message campaign to give residents a way to update their emergency alert preferences. This campaign was sent to Florence-area residents who are only registered with PENS, offering them a  way to opt into the Florence Alert Network as well.

Residents are encouraged to sign up or log in to their PENS or FAN accounts and review their alert preferences.

Once logged in, they can register to receive regional PENS or local FAN alerts; update or verify addresses to ensure they receive localized alerts for specific areas; and adjust whether to receive alerts by phone, text or email.

To access PENS, visit: https://pinalcounty.genasys.com/portal/en.

To access FAN, visit: https://townofflorence.genasys.com/portal/en.

Emergency alerts are distributed 24/7. For those who want to receive alerts via phone call or text message, the town recommends silencing phones or enabling “Do Not Disturb”  mode during sleeping hours to avoid disruptions.

To further support residents, the town is planning to host events early this year to help in registering for FAN or adjusting  emergency alert preferences.

For questions or assistance regarding these upcoming changes and improvements, contact Jeff Graves at jeff.graves@florenceaz.gov or 520-868-7541.