RapidSOS works with companies and organizations that are answering the call to get life-saving emergency data to first responders. We certify our partners as #RapidSOSReady to signify their commitment to improving public safety. But what does RapidSOS Ready mean? And what does a RapidSOS Ready company, public safety agency, or individual look like? Let’s dive in.
What is RapidSOS Ready?
The process is simple: if you’re sharing or receiving emergency data through the emergency response data platform, you’re RapidSOS Ready. Whether your company powers its panic buttons through our products, your 911 agency uses RapidSOS Portal or an integration to manage emergencies, or you’ve signed up for an emergency health profile to protect yourself when you need it most, you’ve earned the badge.
Our goal is to showcase and spread the word of the challenge we’re trying to overcome: the data gap between our connected technologies and our first responders.
Companies protecting their people
Consumers are looking for new and better ways to protect themselves and their families. Innovative companies and organizations like SiriusXM Connected Vehicle Services, the MedicAlert Foundation, and Cove Security are reacting to that demand by finding new ways to protect their people.
As RapidSOS Ready companies, they’re able to share life-saving data from their platforms, devices, or sensors to protect their customers, employees, and communities in emergencies. Whether it’s to protect independent contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic, or to invest in the future of road safety, they’re creating safety features for when people need help the most.
For example, Cove Security became RapidSOS Ready to share security alarm information with first responders the moment an alarm is triggered. In home security emergencies, whether it’s a fire or a burglary, every second counts. By sharing this data, Cove is able to help expedite response times, limit the impacts of false alarms, and ensure first responders have the best intel before they get on scene.
Jordan Harmon, Co-founder and Head of Marketing Cove describes the partnership, “The alarm industry has done the best it could with the resources it had, but Cove with RapidSOS is enabling new innovations.”
Public safety agencies managing emergencies
Public safety agencies connect to the platform to receive emergency data from our partners. They do this to outfit themselves with the best intel possible before heading into emergencies, so they can deliver the right care to the right people at the right time.
First responders know just how important it is to respond to emergencies quickly and efficiently. One of the largest obstacles to getting on scene is actually finding the location of an emergency – since our emergency call systems are built for landline phones, it’s extremely difficult for first responders to access location and additional information from smartphones or connected devices.
Read more: 76% of tested Android ELS calls were located within 50 meters – RapidSOS and Android ELS Case Study
They’re often forced to rely on what’s communicated during the initial emergency call, which means the caller has to know where they are and have the ability to articulate their emergency. According to the FCC, over 10,000 lives are lost each year because first responders couldn’t find them fast enough.
By becoming RapidSOS Ready, public safety agencies are able to receive device-based location data from over 350 million connected devices and sensors. They can view the location of all calls in their jurisdictions to monitor call surges, locate emergencies, and efficiently manage emergency resources.
According to a survey of over 5,200 public safety agencies, 92 percent of dispatchers agreed that having access to additional data through RapidSOS speeds up response times, and can help save lives in emergencies.
People sharing data with first responders
According to a survey by DKC analytics, 93 percent of Americans agree that if first responders had more data, they could save more lives. That demand is the motivation behind RapidSOS Ready – it’s a fundamental desire to want to protect ourselves and our loved ones, especially in situations we can’t control like a car accident or a medical emergency.
Individuals can become RapidSOS Ready in several ways: what matters is they’re able to share their data with first responders in emergencies to protect themselves and their families. They can buy from a RapidSOS Ready company, use a RapidSOS Ready device, or create an Emergency Health Profile to ensure their data can be shared through the data platform.
Sharing this information can be the difference between life, death, and thousands in medical bills. In life-threatening emergencies, each additional minute increases mortality rates, whether it’s a car accident or a heart attack. By becoming RapidSOS Ready, individuals and families are able to equip their first responders with everything they need to get on scene faster and provide the right care.
The RapidSOS Ready Impact
RapidSOS helps support first responders through over 250 million emergencies each year. Oftentimes it’s as simple as someone calling 911 for a fender bender, and a dispatcher was able to locate them on the highway with device-based location data through RapidSOS.
Sometimes, however, data from RapidSOS helps first responders heroically respond to situations in ways they never could before. Recently, a woman in Cheyenne County, Nebraska was found thanks to location data available on the RapidSOS platform. According to the dispatcher, she had been kidnapped, was held in her adbuctor’s basement for 7-10 days. “She had no idea where she was, but she had managed to steal her abductor’s cell phone to make the 911 call. Plugging the phone number into RapidSOS dropped the pin location directly on the house we found her in…It was amazing and instrumental in rescuing this person.”
RapidSOS location data helped first responders immediately find a woman who didn’t know where she was, saving valuable time and possibly a life along the way.
Becoming RapidSOS Ready helps our first responders protect our communities like never before, and the more data they have available, the better equipped they’ll be. To find out how you can become RapidSOS Ready, talk to an expert today.
Watch – RapidSOS Emergency Response Data Platform – How Does It Work?
