Sheriff Crenshaw announces launch of Smart911 Service
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office announces that the E-911/Communications Center has launched the Smart911 service and the service is available for residents to go online and register. Smart911 is a service that allows residents to create a free safety profile for their household that includes any information they want 9-1-1 and first responders to have in the event of an emergency. Then, when anyone in that household dials 9-1-1 from a phone associated with their Safety Profile, their profile is immediately displayed to the 9-1-1 dispatcher providing additional information that can be used to facilitate the proper response to the proper location. At a time when seconds count, Smart911 provides details that could impact response the second an emergency call is placed, which could be the difference between life and death. “This is an additional service being provided to the citizens that can improve the current public safety response for law enforcement, fire, and EMS,” says Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “Our dispatchers attempt to gather as much information as they can so when officers and public safety crews respond to the scene of a call for service, they will have as much information as possible, which is pivotal for their safety and the safety of those they are responding to assist. In an emergency, citizens sometimes can forget to relay important information or in some cases, public safety officers respond not knowing a person in the home has a special need such as being in a wheelchair.” You can sign up for Smart911 at www.smart911.com and create a Safety Profile for your household to give 9-1-1 valuable information about yourself, family members, your home, pets and even vehicles that will display automatically on the 9-1-1 call taker’s screen when you make an emergency call. It’s private and secure and you control what information is in your profile. These details can save seconds or even minutes during an emergency. “Early this year the Sheriff’s Office began working to identify methods of providing this service to our citizens free of cost. While dialing 911 almost always provides your phone number and location, the Smart911 profile provides many more enhanced capabilities of putting vital information in front of emergency responders when you need help quickly,” said Captain Travis Tilson, E-911 Director for the Sheriff’s Office. By registering for this service, you will be able to create a free, private and secure safety profile for yourself and your family. The information is secure and cannot be accessed until someone calls 9-1-1. Residents can provide any information for 911/Emergency Dispatchers that they can have access to in an emergency, which includes such details as names, ages and physical descriptions of family members, photographs, medical notes such as medical conditions, special needs, prescriptions and allergies, plus pets, vehicles and emergency contacts. When someone dials 911 from a phone that is associated with their account, the profile they set up is immediately displayed to the dispatcher that is taking the call. “As Sheriff of Oconee County, I take the responsibility of keeping our citizens safe very serious and it is my number one priority,” continues Sheriff Crenshaw. “Since seconds count in an emergency, I highly recommend to our citizens to sign up for Smart911. This is an invaluable resource for our dispatchers, citizens and public safety officers here in Oconee County.”