The 911 emergency system, in place in Geauga County since 1994, was a major improvement in cutting down response time in emergencies.
The 911 emergency system, in place in Geauga County since 1994, was a major improvement in cutting down response time in emergencies.
Before the automatic system was developed, residents needed to call separate numbers for local police and fire response, usually posted with a sticker on or near their landline phone.
Travelers experiencing an emergency in an unfamiliar area were often unable to summon help unless they knew the local police and fire department phone numbers, which were usually a local three-digit exchange followed by either 1212 or 1234.
The addition of global positioning system technology helped 911 dispatchers to locate a caller without them giving their position. However, the owner of a new local system management company told Newbury Township Trustees at their April 4 meeting he has developed software that can pinpoint a 911 caller’s exact location, which he says can save response time and, ultimately, lives.
Chad Salahshour, owner of Solon-based 911 Cellular, told trustees he has developed software that will allow residents of a subscriber community to install a free application on their smartphone that will put them directly into the correct local 911 dispatch system. The dispatcher will be able to pinpoint the caller’s exact location, down to the floor and room in a building.
“It ties to your WiFi and will show within feet of where you are,” Salahshour told trustees. “Now, the 911 system will show where you are within a quarter of a mile. If you call 911 now, 40 percent of the time, the location reporting is wrong.”
Salahshour gave a recent example of a woman who had a medical emergency outside a CVS pharmacy in Chagrin Falls. The building did not have a visible street address and the dispatcher, receiving the call from a centralized call center, had no idea where the store was located.
But because she had the company’s app on her phone, she was able to push a button and get help almost immediately, probably saving the woman’s life.
Salahshour told trustees he has a background in law enforcement and software development. After he lost his niece to a terrorist attack in 1988, he worked to develop software that can help law enforcement respond to an emergency more quickly and accurately.
If, for example, there is an active shooter in a school, the software can tell police exactly where in the building to look, he said.
His company, 911 Cellular, supplies local communities with software systems that form what he termed a “geo fence,” which allows residents to take part in the protection on their phones, no matter where they are.
“The good guys can find you easily,” he explained, adding in an emergency situation, that knowledge can save lives.
“It’s really an enhancement for 911 that no municipality should be without,” Salahshour said. “So many people are dying needlessly and this very simple application could save lives.”
He said recently, in Reminderville, Ohio, someone called 911 to report a small backyard fire. It took the dispatcher almost eight minutes to determine the right location and send help. By the time firefighters reached the fire, it had damaged two houses to the tune of $916,000.
“Dispatch centers are basically clearing houses for calls,” said Salahshour’s associate, Newbury native Larry Bennett. “They don’t know where CVS is or where the Heinen’s is. This system is great for fire departments and especially great for people with medical conditions.“
“It really is a game changer for safety forces,” Salahshour added.
He told trustees, with the phone app, a person can make a screen shot of a suspicious vehicle and send it directly to the police, who will be able to see the location.
“Having that information quickly can make all the difference in the world,” he said.
A yearly subscription costs the local government about $200 per month, or $3,500 per year, and costs individual residents nothing, he told trustees.
“How much is your life worth?” Salahshour asked. “The price we charge is minute compared to the value of someone’s life.”
Trustee Glen Quigley thanked Salahshour and Bennett for the presentation.
“We will be talking to you folks,” Quigley said.
