Public Safety Officials Encourage Residents to Sign Up for the Free Service That Provides Emergency Responders with More Information in the Event of an Emergency
Public safety officials in Prince William County announced today that Smart911 is now available to all individuals. Smart911 is a free service that allows individuals and families to sign up online to provide key information to 9-1-1 call takers during an emergency.
“By signing up for Smart911, citizens can provide important and relevant information that can assist first responders in an emergency,” said Eddie Reyes, director of Prince William County Public Safety Communications. “The additional information, that is completely controlled by the citizen, can provide first responders with information that may include who may be in the residence, where they may be located and any medical conditions that they may have.”
Smart911 allows individuals to create a Safety Profile for their household at www.smart911.com or on the Smart911 App that includes any information they want 9-1-1 and response teams to have ahead of an emergency. When a citizen who completes their Safety Profile ahead of time makes an emergency call, that information is automatically displayed to the 9-1-1 call taker, allowing them to send the right response teams to the right location with the right information.
The Smart911 app provides greater access to the lifesaving benefits of Smart911 and targeted location-based alerts to all individuals. The Smart911 App is available on the Apple Store or Google Play.
“One of the big benefits to this registration is that your profile follows you wherever you go. If you are in another town or county that also supports Smart911, and you should happen to call 9-1-1 for an emergency, any information you have provided in your Safety Profile in Prince William County is displayed there,” said Michele Surdam, assistant director of Systems within the County Public Safety Communications Center.
With Smart911, individuals can link both home and work addresses to mobile phones, which are passed on to responders in the field for a more detailed, rapid response. Additional information including pets in the home, vehicle details in the event of a crash, and even emergency contacts can all be included in a Safety Profile. All information is optional, and the citizen has the ability to choose what details they would like to include.
Fire and Rescue System Chief Tim Keen said, “For fire and medical emergencies, someone with sensitive or complicated medical conditions could voluntarily pre-populate any information they would want first responders to know when responding to their emergency, which may improve triage time.”
Acting Police Chief Jarad Phelps said, “We often respond to calls for service involving individuals with Autism or intellectual disabilities. Loved ones of these individuals could pre-populate information that could better assist us with identifying the best resources to address the situation and their needs.”
“When calling 9-1-1 from a cell phone, the Safety Profile can speak for you when you are unable, as the specific address is not provided to the 9-1-1 call taker. It is really an immeasurable benefit,” said Director Reyes.
Smart911 is currently available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities across the country, and is credited with positively impacting emergency outcomes including a missing child in which the girl’s photo and physical description were immediately available to 9-1-1 and responders, as well as a heart attack victim where an address and medical notes allowed responders to be dispatched to his location quickly.
Individuals are encouraged to create their Safety Profile with Smart911 today to have their information immediately available to 9-1-1 and to receive emergency notifications. Smart911 is private and secure, is only used for emergency responses and only made available to the 9-1-1 system in the event of an emergency call.