The Boone County Sheriff’s Office released information regarding the importance for the community to
ensure quick reaction from dispatch by utilizing the Smart911 app.
In honor of 9-1-1 Education Month, National Telecommunicator Week and Smart911 Day, April 30, public safety officials in Boone County are encouraging residents to sign up for Smart911, a free service that allows individuals and families to complete a profile so that 9-1-1 dispatchers have access to vital information during an emergency. A Smart911 profile may be created for any household by visiting smart911.com or by downloading the Smart911 app.
Smart911 is currently available in all 50 states with more than 3,500 municipalities across the country utilizing the tool to protect more than 66 million people. Smart911 enables the collection and sharing of critical background information so that when a citizen makes an emergency call, their Safety Profile is automatically displayed to the operator who can then send the right response teams to the right location with the right information as quickly as possible with a low margin of error.
Residents can decide what information to make available in their Smart911 Safety Profile to enhance first responder situational awareness, which includes emergency contact information, medical history, including medications, medical equipment and medical conditions, property layouts, access points and utility information and number of people and pets on the property.
Boone County 911 Communications Director Vanessa Moistner commented about the importance of the Smart911 information in the case of emergency calls that require immediate dispatch.
“When an emergency call comes in, dispatchers and first responders are tasked with responding as swiftly as possible. The more information we have to do that, the better and quicker an emergency response will be,” Moistner said. “Smart911 helps us to know more about the individuals involved in an emergency so that we can arrive on scene ready to take action. Every resident in Boone County should consider making a profile so that if an emergency ever occurs, they can feel confident that 911 professionals and first responders have information that helps to inform a rapid, successful response.”
According to authorities, the Smart911 tool has been credited with positively impacting emergency response in communities around the country. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office stated that the tool has been utilized to quickly locate an elderly person with dementia as a result of the operator being able to see the patient’s photo and physical description that was immediately available via their Smart911 Profile, and the tool has been utilized for expediting response for a heart attack victim because location information was readily available within the platform.
Smart911 is private and secure, authorities state, and it is only used for emergency responses and only made available to the 9-1-1 system in the event of an emergency call. The Smart911 App is available on the Apple Store or Google Play.