Monday was opening night for both the New England Patriots 2011-2012 season and the new notification system Lexington uses in case of emergency.

That’s the story according to Police Chief Mark Corr, who said “Tropical Storm Irene was the preseason” for public safety officials who began using the Code Red notification system to connect with Lexington residents during the storm.

Code Red is the emergency notification system the town has purchased to replace its previous system, which Corr said, “had any number of deficiencies that were not meeting the needs of the community.”

One of the best features of Code Red, which has beckoned visitors of the town website for several weeks now, is that the public can add telephone numbers and email addresses and “really enhance our ability to notify the public,” said Corr.

In addition to notifying Lexington’s local press corps, public safety officials plan to attach fliers to tax bills to get the word out and solicit sign-ups to Code Red. Folks at the Council on Aging have pledged to help seniors sign up who are uncomfortable with using computers.

While promoting Code Red, Corr encouraged residents to sign up with their land lines, despite that fact that more and more people going mobile.

“It was the first thing to fail after the events of 9/11,” said Corr of cell service in emergency situations. “The old wire into the wall is powered by the phone system, it is not powered by electricity. We would encourage, as long as it’s not financially burdensome, that every family have at least one phone that is wired into the wall.”

Click on the images to the right to Code Red see screen shots and read the town's press release and Frequently Asked Questions.