In case of emergency

In case of emergency (ICE) is a program that enables first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, to identify victims and contact their next of kin to obtain important medical information. The program was conceived in the mid-2000s and promoted by British paramedic Bob Brotchie in May 2005. [ [http://new.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_newmarket/displayarticle.asp?id=198611 Bob's idea has global impact (Cambridge Evening News)] ] It encourages people to enter emergency contacts in their cell phone address book under the name "ICE". Alternately, a person can list multiple emergency contacts as "ICE1", "ICE2", etc. The popularity of the program has spread across Europe and Australia, and has started to grow into North America. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/07/ep.if.i.die/index.html If you get hit by a bus tomorrow (CNN)] ]

Overview

Following research carried out by Vodafone that showed that fewer than 25% of people carry any details of who they would like telephoned following a serious accident, a campaign encouraging people to do this was started in May 2005 by Bob Brotchie of the [http://www.eastanglianambulance.com/default.asp East Anglia Ambulance Service] in the UK. The idea has taken off since the July 7, 2005 London bomb attacks. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4674331.stm|title=BBC news report on ICE scheme|accessdate=2008-07-11]

When interviewed on July 12, 2005 on the BBC Radio 4 "Today programme", Brotchie said:

"I was reflecting on some difficult calls I've attended, where people were unable to speak to me through injury or illness and we were unable to find out who they were. I discovered that many people, obviously, carry mobile phones and we were using them to discover who they were. It occurred to me that if we had a uniform approach to searching inside a mobile phone for an emergency contact then that would make it easier for everyone."

Brotchie also urged mobile phone manufacturers to support the campaign by adding an ICE heading to phone number lists of all new mobile phones.

In the summer of 2005, ICE-ER, LLC began distributing on its website ( [http://www.icesticker.com www.icesticker.com] ) a sticker that serves as a visual alert that an individual has established a communication protocol.

See also

*E.123 (a language-independent version of ICE)

References

External links

* [http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/icephone.asp Snopes.com echoes debunking of ICE virus myth]
* [http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_newmarket/displayarticle.asp?id=198611 Bob's idea has global impact (Cambridge Evening News)]