Plano Fire Department Offers Free File of Life Packets/Encourages
ICE Usage
Posted: December 20,
2006
During calendar year 2005 the Plano Fire-Rescue Department
responded to a total of 17,515 calls for service and maintained an average
response time of 5 minutes and 11 seconds for Fire calls and 5 minutes and 21
seconds on Emergency Medical Services calls.
Unfortunately, many medical emergency calls are treated
without the knowledge of the patient’s medical history, with the skill and
education of Plano Fire Department personnel becoming even more important for a
successful resolution.
Now, the Department is offering free File of Life packets to
enable Plano Fire Department personnel, or other emergency responders, to
obtain a quick and accurate medical history when a patient or family member is
unable to offer one.
The File of Life is a red plastic magnetic file folder that
attaches to your refrigerator. It
contains vitally important information about you or a loved one, so that
emergency medical professionals have quick access to your basic medical
information, along with physician information and emergency contacts.
Packets are available at all Plano fire stations or you can have one sent
to your home by calling 972-941-7421.
Plano Fire also supports the use of “ICE,” an acronym for
“in case of emergency,” now turning into a standard phone address item on
millions of cell phones.
Cell users simply add “ICE” in their mobile address book,
followed by the name and number of the person(s) they would contact in an
emergency.
It’s fast and simple.
In your mobile phone address book simply type the acronym “ICE” followed
by the contact name and their number (for example, ICE – Harrison
Ford, 333-222-1111.) You can prioritize
your contacts by listing them as ICE1, ICE2, etc. Be sure you tell your ICE contact that you
have nominated them to be an emergency contact for you.
While emergency care continues to be the Department’s first
priority, ICE is an added resource emergency responders and law enforcement can
use to contact a patient’s next of kin or emergency contact in cases where the
patient may be unconscious or unable to communicate.
Besides the convenience to users themselves, with an
estimated 80% of the population now using cell phones, there is no simpler way
of letting emergency services locate an emergency contact after aid has been
rendered. So popular is the concept a
move is already underway to make this a standard feature in the manufacture of
cell phones.