City Manager Jay Ash announced today that Smart911 is now available to all residents. Smart911 is a free service that allows people to create a Safety Profile for their household that can include any information they may want 9-1-1 telecommunicators and first responders to have in the event of an emergency. When it is necessary to call 9-1-1, their Safety Profile will immediately display on the call taker’s screen saving critical seconds and even minutes in dispatch and response to the emergency.
“Smart911 is a great step forward in emergency response and will give us a way to save time and ultimately lives.” said Emergency Management Director Allan I. Alpert. “When you call 9-1-1, you are not having your best day and even the simplest of details can be difficult to communicate in a time of panic. Now fire, police and EMS can approach the scene of an emergency with vital information from the profile.”
Smart911 allows residents to create a Safety Profile at www.smart911.com for their household that includes any information they want 9-1-1 and responders to have in the event of an emergency. When a resident or any subscriber to Smart911 makes an emergency call, their Safety Profile is automatically displayed on the 9-1-1 call takers screen, giving them the ability to insure responders have all the available information, some of which may not be provided to 9-1-1 during such a frantic time. Responders can be aware of many details they would not have known previously and now the fire department can arrive at a house fire knowing how many people live in the home and the location of bedrooms; EMS can be advised of allergies or specific medical conditions and police can have the photo of a missing child in seconds rather than minutes or hours.
“Currently when the City receives an incoming 9-1-1 call, we have limited information. That is especially true for calls from mobile phones,” said Police Chief Brian Kyes. “Having more information to better understand the situation is an immeasurable benefit to our call-takers and responders alike.”
With Smart911, residents and businesses can link both home and work addresses to mobile phones, which can be forwarded to responders by 9-1-1 telecommunicators for a more a detailed response. Additional information including pets in the home, vehicle details in the event of an accident and even emergency contacts can all be included in a Safety Profile. All information is optional and residents have the ability to choose what details they would like to include.
“Knowing if any occupants have a disability or how many people and even pets live in a home, while responding to a fire or other emergency can make our search and rescue efforts more efficient,” said Acting Chief Robert Houghton. “Additional details such as the location of bedrooms, utility shutoffs and access points can help us to prepare for our arrival even while we are en route to the scene.”
Smart911 is currently available in 35 states and more than 500 municipalities across the country and has been credited with positively impacting emergency outcomes including a missing child in which the girls photo and physical description were immediately available to 9-1-1 and responders, as well as a heart attack victim where medical notes allowed responders to have life saving information about the gentleman’s pre-existing aliment. In Massachusetts Smart911 is already available in Milford, Framingham, Medford, Stoughton, Blackstone, Somerset and Middleborough.
Chelsea residents and businesses are encouraged to create their Safety Profile with Smart911 today to have their information immediately available to 9-1-1. 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.
Contact:
Emergency Management Director Allan I. Alpert
617-466-4660