471 St. Clair County residents have signed up for Smart911

St. Clair County residents have made 471 profiles on Smart911, the free service that gives 911 dispatchers useful information during calls, the 911 executive director said.

Of the 471, 335 have been been involved in a call during that time, according to Herb Simmons, executive director of the St. Clair County Emergency Telephone System Board.

The information provided to dispatchers includes who lives at the residence, their physical characteristics, medical concerns and pictures, as well as facts about pets, building entrances and locations of gas and water shut-offs.

Although Simmons hasn’t heard from dispatchers whether Smart911 has made any difference in emergency calls, he said the county is still advertising the program and has even fielded a couple of calls from counties interested in getting the service themselves.

St. Clair doesn’t have a goal for sign-ups, but people are still making profiles. The county has held demonstrations at a handful of senior centers, and at one last week, 40 people signed up, Simmons said.

Simmons is signed up for the program himself, as well as the entire ETSB office, which has 13 people.

The ETSB director acknowledged that many people are still concerned about security breaches, but he reassured people who are thinking about signing up.

“I’m confident it works,” he said.

The service is expected to cost $300,000 of the $2.4 million bond for Next Generation 911 connectivity funding passed by the St. Clair County Board in 2014. The bill includes equipment purchases and a five-year subscription to Smart911.

To sign up for Smart911, go to smart911.com.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 9:13 AM with the headline "471 St. Clair County residents have signed up for Smart911."