California cousin: “Thank God for cell phones!”

Some cousins of mine live in San Diego. Reading all the fire news, and seeing it on television, I became increasingly concerned. Yesterday I emailed them to see if they are okay. Their reply brought the good news that their home is thus far out of danger. In her reply, part of which is below, my cousin mentioned how important their cell phone had been on a trip home when they were uncertain of conditions there.

In school evacuations that inevitably scatter students and teachers, the Defywire Mobile Guardian brings a new level of control, communication and calm. The ability of teachers, administrators and parents to reach out for information in a growing crisis provides, as my cousin says, the ability to get the info needed. More and more frequently we are reading about the crucial role of mobile phones in all sorts of crises. Defywire provides schools with the new safety network of mobile communication and access to information about the crisis, about students’ whereabouts and about contacting their guardians.

 

From my San Diego cousin: The entire thing is quite surreal! Ralph’s nephew, Bruce, son of his sister Frances, and his teenage son had to evacuate; they tried to get to us but were not allowed to come south. ALL THE MAJOR ROAD WERE CLOSED!! Had we wanted to leave the county, we would have had to try to go to Mexico! A very sobering thought! My brother and his wife are here from Florida—we had gone north on Sunday to the Pasadena area where our son, Mike, lives with his wife and infant son. We knew of the Malibu fire and a small fire here before we left but didn’t hear much about San Diego during the day. As we drove home, down I-5, the smoke kept getting thicker and thicker. Thank God for cell phones! I called a neighbor to find out where the fire was! I got the info I needed, which was that we weren’t threatened, but the smoke was amazing! We have a lot of falling ash and smoke but almost no wind at our house . . . .

Mobiles given to British police for efficiency

Britain’s new Prime Minister Gordon Brown thinks providing “handheld computers” to police is so important that he has mentioned them twice in major statements. A report in silicon.com explains:

Andrew Watson, chief information officer for the British Transport Police, said in a statement: “The use of mobile technology eliminates a massive administration burden from police officers, releasing them to concentrate on the job they are trained to do. Furthermore, it ensures that information is up-to-date and accurate.”

Instead of a British policemen having to spend the rest of the day in an office doing paperwork after making an arrest, he or she can send the information from the scene. That principle makes the officer more effective in fighting crime by freeing up wasted time.
Officer Watson’s statement also applies importantly to how mobile devices, more commonly called cell phones in the US, can empower school teachers and staff in keeping students safe. When teachers and staff are able to access information about students through the mobile devices they carry, that information is available, up-to-date and accurate.

The reverse of what takes place in the police example happens for school safety: crucial location and health information can come from the office directly into a mobile at the scene where a teacher or staff person is helping a student. A growing accumulation of experience in various areas of public and personal safety is showing that safety is more assured when the responsible person is carrying a mobile computer.