Lexington is rethinking how it notifies elected officials and the public during emergencies in the wake of a fire that destroyed a beef cattle auction business in Lexington.
City spokeswoman Susan Straub tells news outlets that Lexington used a phone system Saturday to alert nearby residents of the fire, but that phone system calls only landline numbers.
Straub says the city is exploring other emergency management notification systems that use cell phone numbers. The phone system was also used to notify residents of the opening of a shelter for those with chronic respiratory problems.
Some members of the Urban County Council said Tuesday that city officials should have communicated with council members during Saturday's fire, which destroyed seven acres of the stockyards operated by the Blue Grass Livestock Marketing Group. No one was injured.