'ICE' Cell Phone Plan Would Help Rescuers

[charrison]

linkage

Now a simple initiative, conceived by a paramedic in Britain, has gained momentum on both sides of the Atlantic to try to solve this problem. Cell users are being urged to put the acronym ICE -- "in case of emergency" -- before the names of the people they want to designate as next of kin in their cell address book, creating entries such as "ICE -- Dad" or "ICE -- Alison."

...

The idea was conceived by Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the ambulance service, after years of trying to reach relatives of people he was treating. He began the ICE initiative in April, but it gained momentum only after the bombings in London, when information about the plan spread by e-mail. Ware said the East Anglian Ambulance service received 500 inquiries in six days, from South Africa, Canada, Israel, Germany, and several organizations in the United States, including a security company from Utah working on the London bombings, police departments in Florida and Texas, and a company in Ohio.

Seems like a simple and good idea.

 

Why do you need "ICE" in front of an entry like "Dad" or "Home?"

I have "Mom Cell," "Dad Cell," and "Mom and Dad" in my cell phone. If rescuers can't figure out how to get in touch with my parents, I just hope their rescuing abilities are better than their common sense.

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: jumpr
Why do you need "ICE" in front of an entry like "Dad" or "Home?"

some might not have Mom or Home in their cell phone book...what if the person is an orphan and lives in his car?

 

[frodrick]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: jumpr
Why do you need "ICE" in front of an entry like "Dad" or "Home?"

some might not have Mom or Home in their cell phone book...what if the person is an orphan and lives in his car?

then he probably doesn't have a next of kin

 

[Juice Box]

thats what I thought...im pretty sure they can figure out "mom" "dad" and "home".....

 

[sygyzy]

What if you don't label your relatives with Mom, Dad, Home? What about your stepdad that you call Joe? This is common sense, people.

 

Originally posted by: sygyzy
What if you don't label your relatives with Mom, Dad, Home? What about your stepdad that you call Joe? This is common sense, people.

If I were a police officer trying to reach the next of kin for a person, I'd go through their cellphone and call the last person THEY called. What's so hard about that?

 

[sygyzy]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: sygyzy
What if you don't label your relatives with Mom, Dad, Home? What about your stepdad that you call Joe? This is common sense, people.

If I were a police officer trying to reach the next of kin for a person, I'd go through their cellphone and call the last person THEY called. What's so hard about that?

Did you really just type that? The last person I called was my friend's girlfriend. If I got in an accident and was incapacitated, and you were a cop, and wanted to call my NEXT OF KIN (kin meaning relative from cyn, you'd call her? Wowsers!

 

[CaptainKahuna]

Originally posted by: frodrick

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: jumpr
Why do you need "ICE" in front of an entry like "Dad" or "Home?"

some might not have Mom or Home in their cell phone book...what if the person is an orphan and lives in his car?

then he probably doesn't have a next of kin

Or a cell phone

 

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: sygyzy
What if you don't label your relatives with Mom, Dad, Home? What about your stepdad that you call Joe? This is common sense, people.

If I were a police officer trying to reach the next of kin for a person, I'd go through their cellphone and call the last person THEY called. What's so hard about that?

Did you really just type that? The last person I called was my friend's girlfriend. If I got in an accident and was incapacitated, and you were a cop, and wanted to call my NEXT OF KIN (kin meaning relative from cyn, you'd call her? Wowsers!

I'd say, "Do you know [name of person on driver's license]? Can you tell me his hometown and who his parents are?"

Seriously, put "ICE" in your phone if you want, but none of the police officers I work with have any idea what ICE means right now. Perhaps it'll be included in future training, but we've heard nothing of it in the department I work at.