DuPage County, Illinois is encouraging residents to sign up for a safety service that enhances the information a regular 911 call can provide, which in turn could lead to faster emergency response times.
Known as Smart911, the free service enables anyone who lives, works or visits DuPage County the ability to create an online profile that will be displayed to emergency responders when a person calls 911 from the registered phone number. The information featured in the profile is determined by the profile creator and can include one's home address, photos or physical descriptions of family members, medical conditions, and special considerations such as language restrictions or restraining orders. All provided information is kept confidential.
The Smart911 service is especially helpful when searching for missing children since a child's photo can immediately be sent to officers and the media, when dealing with unresponsive callers if the caller is unable to speak due to a medical condition or because they are in a dangerous situation, or when needing to locate family members when responding to a house fire.
Additionally, Smart911 is also beneficial when it comes to mobile phone users.
“More than 70 percent of 911 calls come from mobile phones," DuPage County Emergency Telephone Service Board (ETSB) Chairman Gary Grasso said. "That cellphone’s exact location can’t always be determined by GPS from a cell tower. Smart911’s enhanced service displays the listed address of the mobile phone in the profile and can track the call via GPS, even if the call is disconnected."
More than 25,000 households have signed up for Smart911 since the service launched in DuPage in June 2011.
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