E911 Location Accuracy
David Witkowski, President Wireless Communications Alliance
911 is a North American system that links emergency callers with public safety call centers. 911 was originally designed to support wired landline calls originating from a known location of record. As the use of mobile cellular phones has grown, the Federal Communications Commission has mandated that Enhanced 911 (E911) be implemented to provide location information of non-landline callers. Many of the techniques used to locate wireless 911 callers require that accurate locations of cellular antenna towers be recorded, and that the azimuthal alignment of sectored antennas be done precisely. In practice, the recorded locations of cellular antenna towers are often inaccurate and the azimuthal alignment of sectored antennas is often wrong. These errors if left uncorrected will lead to increased response times, increased loss of life, and negative economic impacts.
Code:Ready
Valley Entrepreneurs on a Mission to Decrease Emergency Response Time
In this digital age of fewer land lines and many people calling 911 from their cell phones, emergency responders are struggling to find the victims they are trained to assist. Ready4Rescue was created by Cliff DeBaugh with co-founder Arvind Ravikumar to increase awareness to the public of how to prepare their home, their information and their family before a 911 call is made. This is a proactive approach to the 911 call instead of reactive while a crisis is already happening in the home.
USA Today states, “In California, more than half of cell phone calls didn’t transmit location to 911 from 2011 to 2013, and it’s getting worse. Last year, about 12.4 million, or 63%, of California’s cell phone calls to 911 didn’t share location.” DeBaugh states that we have a false sense of comfort when it comes to making emergency calls from our cell phones. He wants to make sure that we are aware, informed and ready when that time comes.
Ready4Rescue has a unique suite of products and services to aid in decreasing response time in the home. Projections of up to 5 minutes could be gained by simple changes outside and inside the home. Sometimes a consultation will solve the majority of problems, including the simplest of solutions – larger or more visible house numbers!
Their flagship product is a ReadyDataCard which is instantly accessible by first responders. This profile speaks for you, when you are not able, in your home, car, on vacation or at the gym. In addition, the profile lists your emergency contacts so loved ones are notified quickly – not within hours or days which studies show is often the case. We are currently beta testing this product for roll out in early spring 2016.
Their second offering is a home inspection conducted by a licensed professional that identifies any barriers to quick ingress and egress. These include evaluating address visibility, pathway clearances, lighting, clutter, etc. Subscribers receive a comprehensive report which includes a step-by-step plan to make the dwelling “RescueReady” for an emergency.
Ready4Rescue has made substantial progress on the development of a patented high-tech blue beacon which is automatically activated when anyone in the home dials 911 on their cell phone or landline. This light is visible up to a quarter of a mile away. For those living in rural areas where address location is a big problem for emergency responders, this product will help save lives.
Ready4Rescue is a company committed to improving the personal safety of our community by remaining on the cutting edge of technology and industry innovation. Ready4Rescue personnel are available for speaking engagements at your organization or business to give helpful safety tips on making sure that valuable seconds or minutes are not lost because barriers are preventing you or your loved ones from receiving much needed assistance.
If anyone is interested in supporting or hearing more about Ready4Rescue and their efforts to decrease response times for home emergencies in your area, please contact Cliff DeBaugh at 209-663-3678, visit http://ready4rescue.com/ or email [email protected]
Positive PR Stockton – July 2015
Hello Stockton! We are Ready4Rescue.
What is and what does Ready4Rescue do? Ready4Rescue is a proactive approach to a 911 call. We help you get your home ready, your information ready and you ready for an eventual crisis before you need to call 911.
Our mission statement is: “Giving life a second chance, when seconds count.” We achieve this by combining existing protocols with innovative technological solutions that help you gain valuable seconds, even minutes, during an emergency when your life may be in the balance.
Ready4Rescue approaches this often overlooked part of the 911 process by working with homeowners to remove obstacles in an eventual moment of crisis.
We help people understand delays caused by unintentional actions outside and within the home that may delay responders. Some things are easily fixed, some not. However, it’s best to know ahead of time before an emergency happens to help relieve the anxiety of not knowing about possibly having furniture or bookcases in the way causing seconds to be lost when EMT’s enter or move through your home.
The main obstructions to faster response are address identification, information and children or pets. The Ready4Rescue system starts with a home inspection, continues with compiling information to assist responders during an emergency and can continue with data storage and portability of information.
The most important part of a 911 call is address identification. Remember, once the 911 call is made, your next life saving device is your house number.
Everything else follows from that point. Ready4Rescue advices to not rely on GPS to be found as in a recent E911 whitepaper points out that over a third of all cell tower antenna are out of alignment. This means your location can be off as much as 500 meters using a hand set locator. Just like your cars GPS tells you to turn when there isn’t a street.
As we move forward within your home compiling information one area that is particularly frustrating to responders is the emergency contact information. Many times contacts are called and haven’t a clue as to your personal information is located or even if there is any added information to be found.
Ready4Rescue is dedicated to create awareness of the delays facing emergency responders so you can help responders help you … faster, and more accurately.
We are available to speak to groups about this important subject. For more information visit our website www.ready4rescue.com or email [email protected]
911 The Importance of House Numbers
Susan Cruz
November, 2014
www.cruzintegrated.com
Have you ever thought about your house numbers for any reason, especially as a life saving device? Most likely this has not occurred to you or anybody else.
Once 911 is called, the location information verified, the wait begins. The thought not occurring is about the condition, location, and visibility of your house numbers. At least not until the responder passes by, making a U-turn to arrive at the impending crisis.
What happened? The house numbers were not visible in the day or especially at night. That small delay of 45-90 seconds can make a huge difference, sometimes life or death. Yet, it’s the number one reason for delays by responders locally and nationally, the simple inability to read or find the house numbers.
House numbers come in many styles, sizes, colors, wood, brass, plastic, non-reflective, reflective, even lighted, it’s the home owners’ choice. So choose wisely. However, in speaking with responders there is a preference for highly visible reflective numbers, no electricity needed. They are always ready!
The state fire code requires a minimum four inch size for house numbers. Now think stop sign, bigger is better. There is increased surface area to grab the sunlight or headlights of a responding unit. Larger more visible reflective numbers can decrease response time by seconds as the responders can see your home from a greater distance enabling a faster arrival. Remember, if you cannot see your house numbers at night, neither can 911.