By Patrick Fox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The 911 center that dispatches emergency calls jointly for Sandy Springs and Johns Creek will offer a new program that allows people to link their personal information to their cell and residential phone numbers, advancing safety methods another step.
The cities are paying $40,000 each for the Smart911 program, which will roll out in late November or early December. The cities already spend $2 million yearly from their general funds to run the Chattahoochee River 911 Authority. Rave Wireless, which owns the Smart911 program, gave the cities an undisclosed discount for being the first in Georgia to sign up. The service is operating in San Francisco and Nashville.
“My first impression is it sounds like a great thing as long as it’s voluntary,” Johns Creek resident David Kornbluh said. “It kind of scares me when the government sets up databases, no matter what the purpose is.”
The cities have signed up 200 people, mostly city employees, with Smart911. They’ll let residents know in coming weeks about the benefits of a system that links online medical and private information to phone numbers for emergency personnel usage.
Said Joe Estey, Chatcomm 911 operations manager, “We’re simply overlaying the service on top of the 911 service we already provide. It sounds complex but once you understand it, it just kind of sits on top of a regular 911 call.”
Residents log onto the Smart911 website and supply whatever information they consider necessary for a possible emergency.
“Whatever information they would like first responders to know about the residence or themselves, they can put into the profile,” Estey said. “Smart911 prompts them a couple of times a year to make sure the information is current. If they ignore that, then it removes them from the system.”
The information travels with a person’s cell phone, which means anyone who visits or drives through Johns Creek or Sandy Springs can use the system. If that person were in a car accident, dispatchers could look online to see if the victim had any special medical needs or allergies, and if there might be children or pets in the car.
“It’s sort of the high-tech version of putting a sticker on your front door,” said Noah Reiter, Sandy Springs assistant city manager, who handles ChatComm.
Users also can upload photos of family members, which could be used in Amber Alerts or when searching for elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, Reiter said.
Eventually the program will allow for texting between the caller and dispatch center once a 911 call is made.
“If you’re hiding from someone, that’s probably the best solution that exists today,” Reiter said. “It’s helpful in a lot of senses.”
Another safety consideration is police could respond to a home invasion call and have photos of everyone who lives at the address, said Johns Creek City Manager John Kachmar. Information would have been transmitted to a computer in the patrol car on the scene.
“We’re trying to increase the service levels, the protection levels that people have,” Kachmar said. “It’s purely voluntary, but if there’s an emergency at your house we’re going to know that your 12-year-old is allergic to penicillin.”
Copyright 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution