Honolulu joined Delaware yesterday in becoming one of well over 1,800 communities and 40 states to use the Smart911 service. Smart911, created by Rave Mobile Safety, is a free national service, which allows residents to create a safety profile to assist first responders in the event of an emergency.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) made the announcement of the service becoming available in Honolulu during a press conference Wednesday. HPD collaborated with various state agencies, including the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) and the Honolulu Emergency Services Department (HESD) on the pilot project, which is grant funded. If the Honolulu pilot is successful and the response rate is high, the service could expand to neighbor islands.
“Honolulu Police Department is proud and excited to announce that Honolulu is the first location in Hawaii to implement a new system to improve 911 services for all kama`aina and citizens alike,” said HPD Capt. Allan Nagata.
Capt. Allan Nagata announces Smart911 at a press conference.
Emergency situations often require information traditional 911 calls do not reveal, such as exact location, medical conditions, allergies, medications being taken, pet information, pictures of family members, vehicle information, and emergency contact information. Users of Smart911 can elect how much or how little of this information to input into their safety profile.
“Having something as simple as your picture scanned in can aid emergency personnel to identify you quickly at the location of an emergency. Rural residents can add special remarks to help locate homes that have neglected addressing numbers or street signs,” said Hawaiian Telcom 911 Lead Engineer Stephen Douglass.
The information users elect to enter into their profiles remains secure and can be edited at any time. It’s only accessed in the event the user calls 911. When you call 911, the call taker will have vital, personal and medical information you’ve entered into your profile to help understand and respond to emergencies faster.
Smart911 demo, showing profile as it appears to emergency responders.
“The information is completely private and secure, it’s not used for any third party information. Once you create your profile, it goes into secure holding facilities, they’re all encrypted information and it isn’t touched unless you actually call 911,” said Jessica Rose, Community Marketing Manager with Rave Mobile Safety.
Captain Nagata said that HPD does share information with HFD and HESD response units. Important information such as apartment number (in order to pinpoint exact location), access points, and utility details have a significant impact on response times and effectiveness.
“Responding to all emergencies requires time and information, we all know that. Frequently our officers arrive on scene not knowing anything about the person or even their medical background,” said Capt. Nagata. “Having details such as allergies, medical conditions, and current medications via the Smart 911 safety profile will enable us at HPD to forward that valuable information to the EMS personnel, which may help save time and lives."
Since Smart911 is a national database, if you dial 911 from a supporting location, your safety profile will become available to emergency call takers. It’s also a great resource in the event a small child, a frantic caller, or a caller who’s unable to talk dials 911. With Smart911, the safety profile provides more information to the call taker, without having to rely on the caller being the sole source of information in an emergency.
Ready to sign up? Visit smart911.com to create your free and confidental safety profile. Information you can elect to enter for you and your family includes:
♦ Name
♦ Adresss
♦ Phone number(s)
♦ Physical description (including photos)
♦ Medications
♦ Medical conditions
♦ Disorders
♦ Impairments
♦ Pet information
♦ Vehicle information
♦ Household access
♦ Emergency contact(s)
♦ Allegeries
♦ Rescue notes
"We encourage everyone to consider registering and creating their safety profile and providing us (911) that valuable information in case you have to call us in an emergency," said Capt. Nagata.
L to R: Jessica Rose, Capt. Nagata, and Police Radio Dispatcher Debra Keola.
