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ICE Could Save Time in Emergency

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Aug. 16--ICE.

The next time Central City Fire Chief Ricky King goes to the scene of an accident and a victim can't talk, that's what he hopes to see in the victim's cell phone.

King is working on a new campaign to encourage people to put emergency contact information in their cell phone memory so workers can track down vital information more quickly.

ICE stands for "In Case of Emergency" and would mean valuable time saved if emergency workers can't communicate with the victim of a car accident or disaster, King says.

"Information obtained from this system may make the difference" if permission is needed from parents for treatment of teenagers, or paramedics need to know about drug allergies.

"We just think it's a good idea for the community," King said. "If I see a name, that's not going to mean anything to me. This way we can contact a family member a whole lot quicker."

The idea is borrowed from a London paramedic, Bob Brotchie, who, according to a BBC online article, launched an ICE campaign in May that took off after the July transportation system attacks in the city.

D.D. Sparks, supervisor of work management at TVA and former EMT with the county ambulance service, is helping push the idea. He's encouraging his employees to put "ICE WIFE," or "ICE SON" in their cell phones.

"Pretty much just about everyone carries a cell phone anymore," Sparks said. "I just got real excited about it when I read it."

The idea reminds Sparks of a campaign in the 1970s, when emergency personnel passed out vials for people to put in their refrigerators with vital information written on slips of paper inside.

"I saw this and got to thinking, this is an updated version," Sparks said. "We're in the electronic age."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

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Source: Messenger-Inquirer

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