City Solutions: Smart 911
The Cincinnati Reds recognized the Plush family and the Kyle Plush Answer the Call Foundation at telecommunicators night on May 15, 2019
“No one ever thinks they’re going to have an emergency, right? Smart911, if you are signed up for it, will give the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County the information they need . . .”
When tragedy hits, our initial response is “What can I do?” Many of us experienced that collective helplessness when Kyle Plush died in April 2018 after being trapped in his car. Along with the feeling of what to do, there is the question of “What comes next?” Can anything prevent a similar tragedy? One response from the City of Cincinnati was the purchase of the Smart911 program for the City. City Ombudsman talked to Jill Plush, Kyle’s mother, about the Smart911 program. We are encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to sign up for this important service.
Smart911 is a website that allows you to complete a profile with information helpful to emergency responders. Users include the names, phone numbers, cars, pet names, and other useful information about their households. You can upload pictures of yourself and other residents to assist responders. The site allows you to put in as much information as you want. You can take an initial ten minutes to set up basic information and then go back and update with additional details.
“The 911 telecommunicators love it when they get a call with all that information, but it only helps them if that person is signed up for Smart 911. That is why we want to promote people signing up for Smart911,” Plush explained. Currently, in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Smart911 may be the best way to get additional information to responders in an emergency.
Plush indicated one barrier to increasing sign-ups is getting people to take an affirmative action. The Plush family and the Answer the Call Foundation promoted Smart911 sign up at a Cincinnati Reds game, for telecommunicators night. “When we were at the Red’s game, people would say, ‘I’m healthy, I don’t need to call 911,’” said Plush. “No one ever thinks they’re going to have an emergency, right? Smart911, if you are signed up for it, will give the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County the information they need, to know where you live, who you live with, the type of car you drive, medical information, pets in the home, or where the furnace is located in your home. If firefighters need to come in, they’ll know if the bedrooms are below the entrance to the home or above the entrance of the home and that kind of thing. It’s super helpful.”
Plush confirmed, through Hamilton County, there are 21,913 people signed up for Smart911. The number includes both Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati, as the zip codes overlap so they do not differentiate.
“The way Smart911 is helpful is if people sign up for it,” Plush emphasized. City Ombudsman invites you to take 10 minutes to sign up and encourage someone else to sign up.
City Ombudsman has a goal of getting 500 households to sign up in 2020. Please come back after signing up here. Confirm in the comments below or on social media using the hashtag #smart911signup2020. Or just write “done” or other indication, if you’re not a hashtag person. You can also comment on the sign-up process. Had you heard of Smart911?
Read more about the work of the Kyle Plush Answer the Call Foundation here. The family and volunteers work to visit telecommunications centers nationally to tell Kyle’s story and support telecommunications professionals.
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