Emergency Messaging for Residents

911 Response System

Effective October 1, 2009, Media residents and businesses requiring a response from the Media Borough Police Department must call "911".

On October 1, 2009, the Media Police Department will transfer the Police Dispatch duties from in-house to the Delaware County "911" dispatch center located in Lima, PA.

"911" has traditionally been used for fire and ambulance emergencies, and will now also be utilized for emergency as well as non-emergency police responses. Starting October 1, 2009, you must call 911 for all Police responses both emergency as well as non-emergency circumstances!

Those requiring any type of Police response should call 911 and no longer use the 610-565-6655 number. The department will continue to have administrative office hours Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 8:30 pm excluding Holidays.

The new administrative Police office phone number will be 610-565-6656. This number can be called for purpose of administrative matters only; all matters requiring a Police response both emergency as well as non-emergency must be done by calling 911.

DELCO Alert System Warnings For Residents of Delaware County

Residents of Delaware County are invited to enroll in Delco Alert, a regional community alert system that transmits emergency text messages of public warnings.

County Council Vice-Chairman John J. Whelan said the alerts provide emergency information via text messages and email devices of threats to security, severe weather, road closures by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on major highways, and other dangers and emergencies.

"Delco Alert" is the identity in Delaware County of ReadyNotifyPA, which is administered by the Roan Secure Alert Network (RSAN) in the five-county southeastern Pennsylvania region which also includes Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

Entire families can be enrolled in the system under a single user name. Points of interest such as residences, schools, and workplaces can be marked on a map so warnings concerning those locations can be sent to the user. Residents can receive warnings that are local or regional.

Residents who work or go to school in Philadelphia or another county can sign up to receive warnings from those jurisdictions as well as from Delaware County, Whelan said. He said any information provided will remain confidential within the system and will not be used for anything other than sending emergency messages.

Whelan encouraged residents to enroll to receive text or email messages from as many counties as necessary to fully benefit from the system.

"We live in a region with nearly 3.5 million people who cross county lines regularly to travel to and from their homes, jobs, schools and to pursue other interests," he said. "Whether we are dealing with floods, severe storms or threats to homeland security or other threats or dangers, we recognize that emergencies don't stop at our borders." There is no cost to enroll in "Delco Alert." However, recipients of the messages may be charged a fee by their service providers if there is a charge to them for such messages.

If having difficulty understanding the instructions to enroll in the system, contact the Delaware County Emergency Services Department from 9 am to 4 pm. Monday through Friday at 610-565-8700 or send an email to Delaware County Emergency Services Department for assistance.