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Company Says Alert System Worked In Colorado Wildfire

CONIFER, Colo. (AP/CBS4) -- The company that supplies the automated alert system that warned people southwest of Denver to flee a deadly wildfire says the system worked exactly as it should.

FirstCall Network Inc. handles Jefferson County's system that's designed to automatically calls residents.

Some people say that after the fire broke out Monday, they didn't get a call telling them to evacuate before they left their homes.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said Thursday that a software glitch may have caused an estimated 12 percent of residents not to receive calls.

But FirstCall President Matthew Teague says the system worked. He says the 12 percent represents residents who either had disconnected numbers or didn't answer.

He says an 88 percent success rate for reaching people on a weekday is a great percentage.

Wildfire Resources

- Visit CBSDenver.com's Wildfire Resources section.

- Read recent Wildfire stories.

Wildfire Photo Galleries

- See images from the most destructive wildfire (Fourmile Fire) and largest wildfire (Hayman Fire) in Colorado history.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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