The Rumford Connect app aims to provide direct access to services the town of Rumford offers, as well as official news, alerts and safety notifications immediately to phones for free. Submitted photo

RUMFORD — A new notification platform called Rumford Connect was launched April 3, and town officials are hoping to use it to communicate directly with residents.

“This will provide you with direct access to services that the town of Rumford offers,” Police Chief Tony Milligan told the Select Board on Thursday.

He said users can get official news, alerts and safety notifications from the town pushed out immediately to phones — and it’s free. Users can pay sewer bills, property taxes, renew vehicle registration, submit a crime tip to the police and more, right from the app.

“So it’s live now. It’s free,” Milligan said. “A handful of notifications are already out, so check it out, and look for future improvements as we go along.”

The chief said he’s particularly excited that it’s a notification platform.

“If there’s a major structure fire at whatever location and the road is closed, we’ll put out an alert for that,” he said. “Or if there’s an active shooter or some major situation that police are involved in that we want to alert the public, that’s what this could be used for as well.”

The app is administered through the town.

“We’re very grateful to ND Paper for making the donation necessary to help us get this platform off the ground,” Town Manager George O’Keefe said. “They recognized the importance of the town needing to notify residents in the event of whatever type of need there is for public service about safety. They’ve been quite forthcoming about their willingness to help us with this platform and I think this has been very productive.”

In December, O’Keefe said the town had been looking at notification systems prior to a Dec. 10, 2024, incident where a black liquor was released into the air from the mill. “That certainly made it quite clear that this was something that we needed to consider on a broader level,” he said.

Prior to that, on Nov. 5, a man was accused of firing several gunshots in the Rumford Corner Village area before allegedly crashing his car into a home at 61 state Route 232 and setting the building on fire. That led law enforcement officers on an extensive search. During that time, Rumford police issued a shelter-in-place order in the area.

“Myself, the police chief and the fire chief had already been looking at (a lower level) of urgency which was an urgent or significant alert of a matter of public concern,” O’Keefe said. “However, this is at a higher level of concern than what we would post on the Facebook page but at a level of lower concern than what would be justified for an emergency alert through the state.”

To get the app, go to:
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rumford-connect/id6743124648
or
Google/Android: https://tinyurl.com/58m8up4s