The service is called Smart911, and safety profiles can be created at www.smart911.com.
“We've found about 70 percent of our calls are cell phones,” Sheriff Ernest Cutting, Jr. explained.
Unfortunately, 911 calls from cell phones are more difficult to trace and lack addresses and other basic information about the caller.
When a resident in the county makes an emergency call, their safety profile is automatically displayed to the 911 call taker, allowing them to send emergency crews to the exact location of the emergency with the right information. Profile data can include medical information and photos, which can help in emergency and missing-persons situations.
Vehicle details in the event of an accident, emergency contacts and the number of pets in a home can be included in the profile.
Cutting said that the sheriff's office would be spreading word about the service to seniors through the Chenango County Area Agency on Aging and help them create profiles when necessary.
©2018 The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
