ALEXANDRIA, Ky. —
As more and more people cut the cord and go from a landline to a smartphone, it can make life more difficult for first responders. But one of the smartest things you can do to help keep your family safe is sign up for Smart911.
Smart911 allows you to share information with dispatchers, so they can pass it on to first responders.
“When you place a call to 911 that screen will pop up based on the phone number and dispatchers can relay to the first responders important information that you’ve entered in,” said Bill Turner, the director for Campbell County’s Office of Emergency Management.
Last month, during a shooting in Alexandria, Campbell County was able to alert hundreds of people near the scene that they needed to take shelter.
By downloading the app to your smartphone or signing up online, you can share everything from the type of car you drive to the number of pets you have so police and fire officials can help in an emergency.
One of the most important ways it can help is by letting dispatchers know about things like chronic health conditions or special needs.
“My wife’s in a wheelchair, so without Smart 911, first responders going to our house would not know that,” Turner said.
But with Smart911, firefighters would know she might have difficulty getting to the door.
The system only works if you sign up.
“It’s a great tool, and the citizens need to take advantage of the opportunity to go into the tool and put their information in,” Turner said.
Right now, Cincinnati and Hamilton County are on the Smart911 system, along with Butler and Warren counties in Ohio, Boone Kenton and Campbell in Kentucky and Dearborn County in Indiana.
Smart911 is being used in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities, and because it’s linked to your cell number, the important information you share travels with you.
You can sign up at www.smart911.com.
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