The Emergency Telephone System Board of DuPage County offers Smart 911, a free innovative public safety service. Smart911 is available in DuPage County and all participating dispatch centers across the United States.
Smart911 enhances the information that a 911 call can provide and helps first responders help you faster during an emergency. More than 26,000 DuPage County households have already signed up – and you can too.
How Does It Work?
Citizens create an online profile through a secure website at www.Smart911.com. This profile contains information that might be important in an emergency. If you place a 911 call anywhere within DuPage County, your profile is displayed to the 911 dispatcher at the Emergency Communications Center, and the information is relayed to first responders. Your profile is only visible to the 911 dispatcher when you dial 911.
How Does Smart911 Help?
Seconds count in an emergency, and first responders who are better informed can help you faster. Smart911 can help with:
- Mobile phones: Approximately 72% of 911 calls come from mobile phones. These numbers are not listed with an address, and an exact location can’t always be determined by GPS. Smart911 displays the address of the mobile phone user and will track the call via GPS, even if the call is disconnected.
- Missing children: It can take up to an hour to acquire an accurate photo of a child and disseminate it. When you provide a child’s photo in your Smart911 profile, it can be forwarded immediately to officers in the field or news channels.
- Unresponsive callers: Individuals may not be able to speak because they are unconscious, have a medical condition or be in a situation where it is dangerous to speak. Smart911 medical information will be displayed so that first responders will know of existing medical conditions and how to treat them.
- House fire or carbon monoxide alarms: The Smart911 profile can list family members, photos, bedroom locations and even pets to assist fire fighters in more quickly locating everyone to rescue or render aid.
What Details Are Shared?
You decide. Smart911 allows you to store any critical care and emergency rescue information in your online profile. Information can include children’s photos, medical conditions, vehicle information, home addresses of mobile phone callers, disabilities, orders of protection, restraining orders or other rescue-related information. It’s secure and confidential – see Smart911’s Privacy Policy: https://www.smart911.com/privacy-policyContent.html.
How Do I Register?
The registration process is quick and easy – just four simple steps! After completing the steps, you will have a chance to add optional information or edit the information you have provided. You must complete every step, or the service will not work until you have added and confirmed a phone number. Smart911 will also remind you to update your profile every six months. Click the green Smart911 button to register now.
Who can sign up?
Smart 911 is a national service that is available free to everyone. We encourage anyone who lives, works or visits DuPage County to create a profile to help our first responders better serve you when you dial 911. The service can be especially valuable to households with young children, seniors, or anyone with a physical or mental disability. Sign up today—and tell your family and friends about this valuable service, too.
This article was taken from the DuPage County Website for West-Win members’ benefit.