Putnam 911 Trying Out New App For Emergency Calls

Putnam County 911 will be implementing a new smartphone app next year to give dispatchers additional information on calls.

Director Penny Foister said RapidSOS Premium will replace the current system and add new capabilities

“If you got a smart phone, and you have your health information in there or emergency contacts when we get a 911 call, we will see that from the caller,” Foister said. “That could come in handy knowing if someone’s get a diabetic history, seizure history or whatever.”

Foister said the app is not meant to be invasive. Foister said users will need to toggle on the options for a dispatcher to see the information.

“It’s got a lot of things,” Foister said. “We are still learning what all it can do. We would like to try it for one year and see if it benefits our dispatchers.”

Foister said the department wants to plan some public trainings to help familiarize residents. The $12,000 price is a $4,000 increase compared to the current app.

“We need a license for each console that we use, and it is $3,000 for per console per year,” Foister said. “We use four consoles.”