July 22, 2018
The city of Cincinnati has taken steps to improve response times of the emergency services in the wake of a tragic incident that resulted in the death of a 16-year old student at Seven Hills School.
On April 10, Kyle Plush became surrounded under the back seat of his Honda Odyssey. He tried to get in touch with emergency services many times to appeal assistance but expired from asphyxiation in the back of his minivan. His body was not found for many hours.
The incident has prompted the city to take steps to improve safety for its residents and ensure the emergency services have access to critical information to help first responders locate and provide treatment to citizens in emergency situations.
On July 12, Cincinnati put into operation Rave Mobile Safety’s Smart911 facility. The Smart911 facility lets people register a variety of information with the emergency facilities to quicken reaction times.
Users of the Smart911 service can register their contact information, photographs, medical information such as blood type and allergies, languages spoken, details of pets and service animals, emergency contact information, car data, and other information.
When a call is placed to the emergency facilities from a mobile phone or landline recorded through the Smart911 facility, the system identifies the number and provides the emergency facilities with all the information that has been earlier registered. People can record as much or as little information as they desire.
This information can prepare first responders and ensure appropriate medical treatment can be administered in the shortest possible time frame. Having access to photographs can help the emergency services identify victims of crime and locate missing persons, and the emergency services can be provided with invaluable information to help people with disabilities.
In the occurrence of a fire, the system can arrange for fire teams with information concerning the number of inhabitants in a building and the site of the bedrooms, making sure they know precisely where to go. The system also lets the emergency facilities to transmit text messages to a mobile phone, such as when a caller is not able to talk verbally.
In the case of Kyle Plush, the emergency services would have had immediate access to the make and model of his car, which could have allowed him to be found in time to save his life.
As described on ABC’s Good Morning America, the Smart911 facility is “The Personal Security Game Changer.”
The Smart911 system is voluntary and free of charge for citizens to use. Information in the system is kept secure at all times and is only ever disclosed to the emergency services when a registered user of the service makes a 911 call from a phone number detailed in that user’s profile.
All Cincinnati inhabitants are being persuaded to sign up for the facility and record their information, which will be entered into the nationwide safety database. Presently over 1,500 cities in 40 states are using the Smart911 facility.
