After a challenging year facing the pandemic, 2021 provided an opportunity to reconnect with our loved ones, our colleagues, and our purpose.
For our nation’s telecommunicators and first responders, that connection was more important than ever. From year two of the pandemic, to new wildfires, disasters and school violence – once again we witnessed the unwavering heroism of 911 in responding to hundreds of millions of emergencies over the past year.
For RapidSOS, surrounded by the extraordinary dedication of these heroes, we feel more connected than ever to our mission; uniting with a community of first responders, technology companies and public safety software vendors converging around a vision for transforming emergency response.
Our nation’s telecommunicators are READY – we know this because they’ve been with us every step of the way – advising, guiding, and iterating with us on this technology platform that now links 400M+ devices 5,200+ 911 centers across North America.
Our partnership with public safety saw new advances in 2021 as we on-boarded new data types from millions of health profiles to vehicle telematics, gunshot detection technologies, indoor maps, drones, and connected homes. However the unifying theme remained the unwavering dedication of our first responders – managing over 165 million emergencies in 2021 with critical data from RapidSOS partners.
We created our “Share your Save” Campaign to attempt to capture some of the heroism of first responders. A few examples of this heroism from the year:
VAN ALSTYNE POLICE DEPARTMENT – Van Alstyne, TX
Van Alstyne PD received the call of a 2 yr old child bleeding from the head after a fall. The mom didn’t know the street she was on, but the area she was describing was not the residential address they were given by the county’s 911 system. The telecommunicator pulled up the caller’s location on RapidSOS and was able to dispatch first responders to her exact location.
“The location [we were provided] didn’t look like it was far off from the real location, but trying to run code in an ambulance through a residential neighborhood, instead of staying on a highway and pulling directly into a park’s parking lot, is more than a few minutes difference in the response time. RapidSOS is truly a blessing to our responders and the communities we serve.”
LAYTON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT – Layton City, UT
On February 17, telecommunicators received a text that a woman had been kidnapped and held against her will in a moving semi truck. RapidSOS provided location updates every 10 seconds, showing responders she was heading north on Interstate 15 through Weber and Box Elder County. A trooper was able to find the semi-truck and bring the woman to safety.
“RapidSOS….provides a much faster and more accurate location in an emergency.”
KIRKWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT – Kirkwood, MO
A confused elderly man called 911 on his mobile phone, but was not able to provide his location. Using the RapidSOS Portal, the rich, additional data provided allowed them to dispatch police and EMS to the exact location, notify the caller’s son and paramedics received his accurate medical history.
“The RapidSOS Portal provided a popup with information from Apple Health so we had access to his age, address, medical conditions, medications, emergency contacts, and his doctor’s information. We were amazed we had all that information in front of us. We were able to make the necessary notifications and have a more successful outcome.“
And now we’re READY to support them in bigger and bolder ways in 2022.
