SMART911: New service gives residents personalized emergency response
PLYMOUTH – When a child suffered an allergic reaction last month in Braintree, the babysitter did not know where to find life-saving medication.
But a call to that town’s new 911 system saved the day.
The Smart911 gave dispatchers access to personal information about the family, including where the child’s parents stored their epipens. The dispatcher helped the babysitter find and administer the medication before paramedics even arrived.
That same life-saving technology is now available to Plymouth residents, through the town’s relationship with Brewster Ambulance Service.
This week, Town Manager Melissa Arrighi, along with Police Chief Michael Botieri and Fire Chief Ed Bradley, announced the availability of Smart911 service to residents town-wide.
The free service allows resident to create a safety profile for their household that can include any information they want 911 call takers and first responders to have in an emergency. Then, if they need to dial 911, their safety profile will immediately display on the computer screen of the person taking the call, saving critical seconds and even minutes in responding to the emergency.
“We take great pride in providing the best possible public safety services to the residents, businesses and visitors of Plymouth,” Mark Brewster, president and CEO of Brewster Ambulance Service, said. “By embracing this new technology that has already proven successful all across the country, we are giving citizens the power to engage and communicate with our public safety agencies in an entirely new way, which during an emergency can save time and. ultimately, lives.”
Arrighi said Brewster Ambulance’s commitment to the town is evident in its training and technology, as well as in the care and pride the company takes in the service it provides.
“We are pleased that the Smart911 initiative is going to apply in Plymouth, particularly because this technology assists all our public safety and emergency response personnel in having as much information as possible prior to arriving on scene in response to a call,” Arrighi said. “I would encourage the residents of Plymouth to provide as much information as possible about their individual situation in order to further enhance the well being and safety of this community.”
Smart911 allows resident to create safety profiles, including any information they might want paramedics, firefighters or police to know, such as the number of people living at a residence, the number of pets in the house, the location of bedrooms and medical needs. The service can even include photographs of residents and provide a voice for people who are unable to communicate for whatever reason.
According to the ambulance service, Snart911 is private and secure, is only used for emergency responses, and is only made available to the 911 system in an emergency call.