New 911 for businesses available

PRESCOTT – Businesses in Prescott and Nevada County are being courted to sign up for Smart 911 Facility.

 

This is a project being done by Nevada County 911 Coordinator Dale Booker, in conjunction with the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office. In a nutshell, the program is to have as much information about businesses as possible to help emergency personnel when they’re needed.

 

Those who sign up will be asked to give detailed information about their buildings and property in a profile, along with drawing up a floor plan for the structures. The floor plans don’t have to be professionally done, but do need to show the general outline of the building, including entrances and exits. Should there be any emergency devices, such as an AED on site, that, too, should be noted, along with its location.

 

The idea, said Mary Godwin, executive director of the EDO, is to help emergency personnel when it enters a building. The EDO, she added, is working with all local and county businesses. Booker has done the schools and is working on getting all the churches in the city and county on board.

Signing up is simple. Go to Smart911Facility.com and fill out the application. The drawing of the floor plan will have to be submitted to Booker for approval. Once this is done, everything goes into the system.

Godwin said this is being done with state funding and Nevada County will be the first in Arkansas to have its businesses on Smart911Facility when its finished. Benton was the first city in the state to get its businesses on Smart911Facility. The EDO and 911 offices are working with JP French, the director of strategic accounting for Arkansas and RAVE Mobile Safety.

This service is free and confidential. Every six months, clients will receive an email asking them to check the status of their profile and make any changes necessary. However, participants can go in and make changes as needed with no problem.

When 911 is dialed from the business, the information pops up on the dispatcher’s screen showing the floor plan and profile. This, Godwin said, will help emergency personnel know the best way to enter the building. In fact, the police cars equipped with laptops can receive the information on them, or it can be received on smartphones. Godwin stressed aside from the time this program is in use, it can’t be accessed by anyone.

The first businesses to sign up in Prescott were Alliance Insurance and Stayton and Associates Law Firm.

“I’m excited to be the first county in the state to get this done,” she said.

According to a pamphlet on Smart911Facility, in the event of fire, the profile will help firefighters save time by knowing the layout and utility information. For medical emergencies it helps EMS workers get to and treat the victim quicker, and, should there be an active shooter situation, law enforcement can use the building details and campus layout to coordinate their response.

For more information on the system, or to get help signing up, call the 911 office at 870-887-4911, or the EDO at 870-887-6208.