In 2009, Harrison said a call came into his unit for a two-year-old in cardiac arrest.
“They dispatched us to a road that I was familiar with, but I also knew the addresses were notorious for being out of order,” explained Harrison.
His crews tried their best to find the home. However, they were four minutes past their planned arrival time when they finally arrived.
…
Last week they launched The Locator 911, a smart LED light bulb. Since the launch, it has reached 19 states across the U.S.
“When you call 9-1-1, you just touch the app … You dial 911. As soon as you hit dial, it turns the light on the porch into that strobing beacon,” Cupples explained.
They hope this beacon will light the way for other first responders.
Former medic creates smart LED bulb to help emergency crews find homes faster | News | wsmv.com
I like any gadget or tool that can help shave seconds of delay that can go to save a life. However, don’t depend on just one item but have backups. The first back up I have personally used is my emergency flashers of my own car. The disadvantage would be you have to get in the car to activate or add noise by clicking the emergency button in your fob. But this only works if your car is parked in front of the house or in a garage with the door open facing the road. For apartment buildings, battery-operate flashing strobes will serve as beacon for emergency responders. You can look in Amazon and have your pick of what they call “LED Road Flares Emergency Lights” with three for under $25. If you live in a big building complex, you may use one on any opening of the floor you live in that faces towards the street and one in front of your apartment.
And there is always the option of having somebody actually wait out front with a flashing light and guide the emergency personnel to the location. If you have one of those tac lights with 7,000 lumens, please don’t shine it directly on the oncoming truck, they may frown on that as they crash blindly against an obstacle.
And before I forget, do tell 911 to advise responders there will be a flashing light (describe it, yellow or red or white or whatever color strobe, or guy with a flashlight or emergency lights of a vehicle and do tell color make and model) in or near the area where the emergency is happening. More information is always better.
The rural first-responders haven’t had any trouble finding us (it probably helps that I got our location on Google Maps corrected, so phone nav gets close enough to read the number and name on the mailbox).
One part of the slow-moving “upgrade the defense grid” project is some centrally-controlled outdoor lighting, including driveway markers for guiding expected guests and floodlights pointed down the driveway for deterring unexpected guests. An illuminated street number might also be in order.
(The current phase of that, When I Have Time To Focus On It, is evaluating radio modules in hopes of finding one that has suitable characteristics, including enough range to run bits back and forth between the house and the various places I want to put lights, sensors, cameras, and whatnot. Probably ends up being a mesh network, and any images from the far back yard will be slow to arrive, but things in the far back yard are most likely deer, loose dogs, and the like.)
GE 911 EMERGENCY LIGHT SWITCH 50269 / GE 7250269 has been available for a long time – from multiple vendors
Direct replacement for your front porch / out door lights
I.E. – https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/SfUAAOSwzglg7NFY/s-l1600.jpg
http://communities.leviton.com/servlet/JiveServlet/previewBody/2180-102-1-3365/Spec%20911.pdf
also consider these – https://www.amazon.com/Markstor-Emergency-Magnetic-Driveway-Batteries/dp/B09CTTPTV8/ref=sr_1_6
I had never even thought of this but it is excellent advice and thank you for sharing it