Emergency Service agencies are using the convenience and ubiquity of the Internet to offer additional and/or improved services to their constituencies. Law enforcement agencies are making it easy to report crime tips by email and electronic forms. There are sites that show the crimes and locations within an area available to the public and the police to use. Many EMS and Fire organizations now use text paging and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) for communications.

In the next several years, dispatchers will receive more information from texts, mobile photos and videos. How are our systems able to receive the data, compile it, and get the information to the front line?

Mark Cuban posted an article on how the priority of the data packets can correspond to emergency vehicle operations on the street.

[T]he firetruck, was able to pass, although certainly not without a lot of stop and starts and incremental risk to those waiting on its arrival.

We can relate on navigating a congested road (that seems like a crowded mall parking lot), but Emergency Services has not experienced a virtual bottleneck like traffic. When we try to send “emergency mode” communication, who interprets the urgency? The Internet (and phone company) doesn’t know that our communication is more vital and must be transmitted promptly, securely, and in it’s entirety.

As our dependence on the net continues to increase, our habits of how we deal with emergencies and critical situations will change as well. Will the habits of our kids push them to think to text a message to 911 rather than try to make a call ? In a widespread emergency, a Text may have a better chance of getting through than a landline or cell phone call. But in our net neutrality universe, how can we differentiate between a call for help in a life or death situation vs some kid texting about what happened in class today ?

The internet has become a utility. We have come to depend on it with out really taking into account the situations where that dependence can be the difference between life and death. While the discussion for the National Broadband Policy is occurring in the fight for stimulus money, its time we take the steps to make sure that we define how to identify packets of bits that can save a life

Who will design the network system that decides which data packets to send with priority? It seems like Emergency Services would get a top slot in the queue, but who has the deepest pockets?

Welch Allyn has a page to check if you have a AED 10 or MRL JumpStart defibrillator manufactured between October 3, 2002 and January 25, 2007.  The defibrillator is subject to a voluntary recall for the possibility of an issue with the following:

  • Low Energy Shock
  • Electromagnetic Noise Interference
  • Unexpected Shutdown During Use
  • Blown Fuse
  • Loss of Voice Prompts
  • Shutdown in Cold Temperatures

There is a remote chance that these devices may experience low energy shock, unexpected device shutdown, and/or susceptibility to electromagnetic noise interference. If such issues arise, it may prevent defibrillation of a patient in cardiac arrest and could lead to death. There have been 20 reported instances of low energy shock, 8 of electromagnetic noise interference, and 11 of unexpected device shutdown.

Because the chance of malfunction is remote, customers should keep AED 10 or MRL JumpStart units in use until they receive replacements.

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