By Laura C. Morel, Dallas Morning News
 Original publication date: June 9, 2011

With most 911 calls, the only information operators get is the phone number, type of phone used to make the call, an address if the call was made on a landline or a latitude-longitude location if it’s from a cellphone.

But a new service, known as Smart911, allows operators to instantly see a host of critical and detailed lifesaving information about the caller such as allergies, prescribed medications, language preferences, even photos of pets and more.

“As a 911 operator, we should have the ability to provide better information,” said Dona Fernandes, managing director for the Southwest Regional Communications Center, which handles 911 for Cedar Hill, Duncanville and DeSoto. “It’s an additional service that we chose to provide to our citizens.”

Smart911 is available only in those three Dallas County cities, where it had its Texas debut last month. Officials with the Framingham, Mass., company said they have had discussions with the city of Dallas about expanding the system here, but Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans said Wednesday that he was unaware of those talks.

He did say, however, that he would be interested in learning more about it.

“It does sound like an interesting and useful technology,” he said. “It’s certainly worthy of our review.”

In addition to Texas, Smart911 is available in about 40 municipalities across nine states.

Todd Piett, chief product officer for Smart911, said that residents who want to subscribe to the service must do so at Smart911.com. They fill out a profile with the detailed information they want made available to 911 operators. The system also allows them to post pictures of family members.

Alan Sims, Cedar Hill’s city manager, said Smart911 is a great resource for the elderly and people with illnesses, disabilities and allergies.

“It gives [emergency workers] the ability to respond quicker and potentially save lives,” Sims said.

Fernandes said the Southwest Regional Communications Center, which handles 7,000 to 8,000 emergency calls a month, will pay $22,000 a year to Smart911 for the new technology. Piett said the service is covered by 911 fees on customers’ landline and cellphone bills, so that means subscribers pay no additional costs.

Since it went “live” on May 12, the number of subscribers to Smart911 remains in the low hundreds, Piett said. Officials say they need the public’s help.

“We’re trying to get information out to our public,” said Cedar Hill Fire Chief John Ballard. “Without their participation, it won’t work.”

Last summer in Nashville, Tenn., a nanny dialed 911 and cried, “help me, help me,” when the child she was caring for stopped breathing, Piett said. The boy’s mother had subscribed to Smart911 and listed the medicines her son needed if he became ill. Armed with that information, the emergency responders were able to save the child’s life, Piett said.

Duncanville City Manager Kent Cagle said he believes the Smart911 technology will help residents of his community feel better whenever a similar emergency occurs there.

“We hope it makes people feel a little safer in knowing that we’ve got some important information that will benefit them in a time of need,” Cagle said Wednesday. “It’s just an enhanced level of public safety.”

Other states where Smart911 is available:

• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee

Copyright © 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy