Hurricane Irene - VT How Long Could You Hold Out?
ICE- In Case of Emergency is a concept that has gained considerable recognition as an emergency preparedness tool worldwide since the height of the London Terrorist Bombings in 2005. While some sources claim origins of this idea date back to 2001 but ICE4SAFETY recognizes Bob Brotchie from the U.K. as having the most pronounced role on bringing this practice to worldwide attention.
ICE has gained considerable utility not only for use in electronic devices, but as a business and community based preparedness tool that is exceptionally easy to promote and use in everyday life. The concept stresses the need for people to take more responsibility for their own safety by being actively engaged in the preparedness process. There are no requirements to subscribe or become a member of any group in order to benefit from using ICE unlike a host of short run commercial products appearing on the market.
Safety gimmicks continue to appear and disappear……the fact is you don’t have to purchase anything in order to use the ICE concept! Like anything that provides actual value, using ICE does require those engaged in personal preparedness actually expend effort on their own behalf.
Using ICE was endorsed as a safety best practice by the ASSE in September 2005 and a variety of Emergency Physicians/Nurse Groups, Hospitals, Medical Charity Groups and safety professionals since. It has been featured in state, local and county fairs since 2005 as well. Preparedness is the core principle of the ICE concept and tools designed around this idea are actively being uses and promoted in North America as well as in Europe, Asia and African countries.
These core principles are reflected in the ICE Elements image in the slide show. The various trademarked ICE Images submitted are in use across the United States, Canada, Europe. Asia and Africa. They can/have been modified by the trademark owner to reflect locality, agency-sponsoring organizations as well as business using them to comply with OSHA Safety Regulations as Emergency Action Plan Tools (29CFR1910 & 29CFR1926) or voluntary preparedness plans suggested by DHS. Reflective ICE Placards and ICE Banners can easily be used to identify emergency shelters or coordinate groups in natural and man made disaster situations and can be deployed rapidly at any time in preparation or during such events.
Creative versions of the ICE image have been available at no charge to the public for use as educational tools for teachers or for unique promotional tools such as banners, posters, tool box safety discussions, “best practice” safety discussions, website hyperlinks, brochures, smartphone applications and all aspects of preparedness tool identification and recognition. Adaptations of the image have been used as fund raising tools for non-profits as and can be used to help raise funds for local EMS/Fire organizations.
E.123 International Standard
In 2008 the United Nations ITU Agency promulgated an international standard for the use of ICE in electronic devices designated E.123. Standardizing the programming of electronic devices by utilizing Arabic Numerals to denote primary emergency contacts simplifies the process, reduces errors by user and first responders in an emergency.
Electronic devices are already designed to recognize the non-language dependent system and prioritize emergency contacts automatically thus making E.123 useful worldwide and great for international travelers! Advanced tools have been created as emergency medical applications on smartphones – specifically smart-ICE which has been developed and supported by a professional paramedic and fire fighter.
Bottom Line: ICE4SAFETY will provide practical emergency preparedness informaton here that people can use in their daily lives as well as information and ideas on longer term subsistence in times of extended crisis.