Autauga Co. Kicks Off SMART 911
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When you’re stuck in an emergency situation, you’re forced think quickly. Sometimes you’re not able to give dispatchers the information they need to find you. But with Autauga County’s new SMART 911 service you can sign up for… what you type in your safety profile could be potentially life-saving information. What happens if you call 911, but your call drops or dispatch can’t hear you? Then what? Autauga County 911 dispatchers have a new service that hopes to solve that problem. It’s called SMART 911: a free service that provides emergency responders with more information of the person calling. “When you call it’s going to populate on the dispatchers screen so then they’ll see whatever you’ve uploaded,” Said Melissa Carpenter, Autauga County’s 911 Center Director. “If you feel it’s important to put your children’s phone numbers, your children’s photographs, your pets photos even where you have propane tanks located on your property.” Every bit of information helps. “People’s addresses may not be displayed very well on the street so even gives a picture of the house, or it can give a picture of the house,” Said Cpt. Tony Shaw with the Prattville Fire Department. Only public safety officials will be able to access the information if you call 911. The goal is to save time and save lives. “We’re going to be able to respond knowing more about the situation before we get there, where we might have [had] to get there in the past and call fire medics because we didn’t actually know what we had until we got there,” Said Prattville Police Chief, Mark Thompson. So if you have an emergency, help is just under your fingertips. SMART 911 will also be able to track where you’re calling from in case that call drops. Autauga and Dallas County also provide the service, so if an emergency were to happen in any of those locations, those counties would be able to access your information. The service is free to anyone. Just go to www.SMART911.com The system cost $13,000. It was funded by 911’s operating budget.
