Coughing and a struggle is all Grand Traverse Central 9-1-1 dispatchers could hear when a barely conscious Dan Hoffman of Peninsula Township called from his mobile phone. Hoffman was alone when the fire started, and as the blaze at his home grew more intense, he was only minutes away from the smoke inhalation claiming his life. Unlike landlines, mobile phones – which now account for 70 percent of emergency calls – only provide dispatchers with an approximate location within 100 yards, and even then, it’s accurate only 60 percent of the time. Living in close proximity to Grand Traverse Bay, 100 yards could have placed Hoffman in the water and significantly skewed rescue resources to the wrong location.

Luckily for Hoffman, his wife had created a Safety Profile for their family when Grand Traverse County made Smart911 available to its residents. These profiles contain family member information, photos, medical conditions, disabilities, exact addresses, and even pet information, which allows 9-1-1 and first responders to quickly send the right help to the right location. With the Hoffmans’ profile, dispatchers were able to quickly find a correct home address, cutting 11 minutes off of the response time. Those 11 extra minutes saved Hoffman’s life.

Smart911 is one of several public safety products from Rave Mobile Safety that integrate together seamlessly to improve first responder times and save lives. Smart911 was only available in portions of Michigan up until last year when all public safety answering points (PSAPs) received partial funding from the Michigan Health and Wellness Commission to take advantage of Smart911 at a basic level. Still, only 12 percent of our state’s population is covered by the full Smart911 platform, and it is funded at local levels.

Dan Hoffman’s emergency call was one of the approximately 5.9 million made throughout Michigan to 9-1-1 each year, and 71 percent of these come from a mobile device. With the greater situational awareness, reduced response time, and non-verbal communication to 9-1-1 via Smart911’s texting capabilities (an invaluable capability in domestic abuse situations), full deployment of Smart911 statewide could contribute to saving dozens of lives per year. Data from the Centers for Disease Control on the monetary value placed on each human life equates the total to more than $5 million in savings to the state for each life saved – even though we can all agree the value of keeping Michiganders alive and providing first responders the ability to better address emergencies is priceless.

As April is National 9-1-1 Education Month, it is a good time to highlight the need for every PSAP throughout the state to receive full funding for the full version of Smart911. This would eliminate cost burdens on local communities and standardize processes statewide for better and faster 9-1-1 and first responder services.

The benefits of providing the full version of Smart911 statewide far outweighs any funding concerns. Our schools, hospitals, businesses – and all Michigan residents – deserve access to quicker emergency services. As with Hoffman’s story, saved minutes can save lives.

For more information on Smart911 and other Rave Mobile Safety products, visit RaveMobileSafety.com.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.