Reverse 911 technology, used to alert citizens of an emergency in or around their homes, was recently expanded in Dane County.

According to Joshua Wescott, spokesperson for Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the expansion was made possible by funding in the 2009 Dane County budget that allowed for the purchase of additional phone lines and more up-to-date technology. Thanks to the expansion, up to 2,000 citizens can now simultaneously receive automated phone calls warning them of an emergency.

Reverse 911 gives various emergency responders such as the police and fire departments the ability to reach out to residents directly. It also allows for faster notification of public emergencies and can be used to enhance public safety, according to Wescott, adding the technology is a “tool of preparedness.”

“In an emergency, having the ability to get important information to a lot of people in a short amount of time is critical,” Falk said in a statement Thursday.

Dane County first established the Reverse 911 technology a couple of years ago but on a more limited scale. According to Wescott, the technology was originally installed due to a “feeling that time is of the essence in an emergency.”

The expansion of Reverse 911 comes one month after the Dane County 911 Center released an audit containing statistics showing 80 percent of employees do not think 911 Center policies and procedures are up-to-date.

The audit was prompted by a mishandled call to the 911 Center from University of Wisconsin junior Brittany Zimmermann’s cell phone on April 2, the day she was murdered.

The expanded technology was put to use Thursday when a 12-year-old boy went missing from Mazomanie Elementary School. More than 4,300 Reverse 911 phone calls were made to homes in a 10 mile radius of the school within 20 minutes, notifying residents of the missing child, according to a statement. Neighbors found the boy soon after by checking outside their homes.

“Reverse 911 not only helps our neighborhoods be better prepared, in this case it helped re-connect a boy with his friends and family,” Falk said in a statement.

Joel DeSpain, spokesperson for the Madison Police Department, agreed the technology is very useful.

“We used Reverse 911 last year in the South District to alert residents of a pattern of crime in their neighborhood,” DeSpain said.

Both DeSpain and Wescott said they were contented the Reverse 911 technology could pinpoint specific neighborhoods. Wescott added he was not aware if any neighboring counties plan to enact similar technology.