(Washington, DC) Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced the availability of Smart911, a new initiative by the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) to improve public safety by providing immediate crucial information to emergency responders. Speaking to the media at a press conference at Children’s National Medical Center, Mayor Gray discussed how Smart911 will provide emergency responders with much more complete information about 911 callers so they can respond to the right location, with the right personnel and the right equipment.
“Smart911 will allow our responders to save lives and resolve emergency situations much more effectively,” said Mayor Gray. “This is an excellent example of how technology can improve a critical public-safety system for the benefit of all.”
Coming on the heels of the introduction of the DC 311 smart-phone app, the availability of Smart911 will add to OUC Director Jennifer Greene’s goal of making OUC the nation’s most efficient and responsive emergency communications agency. Introduced less than two years ago by Rave Mobile Safety, the trusted software partner for campus and public safety, Smart911 is a public/private partnership enabling the creation of a critical caller database that integrates with the District’s 911 system.
"Our goal is to help residents help us provide the best possible service, and I think Smart911 does just that," said Greene. "This is an innovative approach to enhancing public safety. Overall, I think the service will provide users a greater sense of security in knowing our first responders have information that could ultimately save their lives."
With Smart911, residents are able to create a Safety Profile at www.smart911.com that is automatically displayed to 9-1-1 during emergency calls. The profile can include home and work addresses associated with mobile phone numbers, specific medical conditions and disabilities, all family members, vehicle information and even information about pets.
“When people call 911 and can’t speak, the only data available to emergency responders is a phone number and a location,” said Tom Axbey, President and CEO of Rave Mobile Safety. “Citizens deserve that their emergency communications harness the advances made in consumer technology. By putting more information in the hands of emergency responders, cities like Washington, DC dramatically improve their ability to protect their citizens from tragic outcomes.”
Residents are encouraged to create their Safety Profile with Smart911 today to have their information immediately available to 911. Smart911 data is private and secure, is only used for emergency responses, and is only made available to the 911 system in the event of an emergency call.