Adoption of Rave Mobile Safety's SmartPrepare Accelerates in First Half of 2014

Service that Leverages Citizen-supplied Data for Emergency Planning and Response Now Supports more than 100 U.S. Communities

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Rave Mobile Safety

Jul 31, 2014, 10:05 ET

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Rave Mobile Safety, the trusted software partner for campus and public safety, has announced continued adoption of SmartPrepare. The rapidly growing service allows citizens to create free, secure Safety Profiles online that contain vital details about their household. Public safety officials can quickly leverage the data in SmartPrepare to gain greater insight into their communities and identify potential challenges in order to more effectively plan for disasters, allocate resources, and expedite emergency response and recovery efforts. It also incorporates the Rave Alert Emergency Notification System, enabling officials to communicate with specific population segments or individuals based on particular needs or requirements before, during and after emergency events.

First introduced in September of 2012, SmartPrepare has quickly grown to meet the emergency planning and response needs of more than 100 communities nationwide. Customers include diverse communities such as: Decatur, Ga., Douglas County, Kan., Eaton County, Mich., Elk Grove, Calif., Borough of Bernardsville, N.J., Missoula Country, Mont., Fairbanks-Northstar Borough, Alaska, Muncie, Ind., Framingham, Mass. and the State of Arkansas.

"Rave Mobile Safety has established a new standard in whole community preparedness," said the Emergency Management Director for the Framingham Police, Steven Trask. "With SmartPrepare, we have the ability to meet the concerns of our community and advocacy groups. We can better anticipate the needs of citizens, plan for emergencies and maximize resources - and should there ever be a disaster - we have the most effective tools possible for communicating and delivering emergency response services."

SmartPrepare allows residents of a community to share critical information about themselves and their families with emergency management. This can include general data on a household - ranging from the identity of residents, locations of bedrooms and utility information - to specific details about disabilities and medical conditions requiring such things as oxygen, dialysis and more. This data is automatically validated and geocoded by SmartPrepare, allowing for rapid and precise identification and visualization of an entire community's needs, supporting both emergency planning and response.

For example, should a storm result in a power outage or necessitate evacuations, SmartPrepare lets officials quickly determine which residents require electricity for medical conditions, identify individuals needing assistance evacuating their homes, and even facilitates the proper handling of pets and livestock. It is particularly useful in proactively planning for emergencies and ensuring the most effective use of resources. While SmartPrepare enhances emergency management's ability to serve a whole community, it provides additional peace of mind to those with functional or access needs.

"We can get information at-a-glance that wasn't possible before and that greatly facilitates our ability to respond to immediate emergencies such as flooding," said the Manager of the Office of Emergency Management in Missoula County, Chris Lounsbury. "This not only helps us meet the needs of residents and vulnerable populations, because ranching is important to this community, it can assist us with such tasks as the evacuation of livestock. Equally important, we can drill down on this data and plan ahead to make sure we've got the right resources in place."

SmartPrepare shares data with Rave's acclaimed public safety service, Smart911, which automatically displays Safety Profile details to 9-1-1 dispatchers during citizen's calls to expedite emergency response. The service is used by public safety answering points in more than 450 municipalities across 33 states. Safety Profiles are safe and secure, and residents manage their own information.

"Having access to the right information greatly improves the ability to respond to an incident. SmartPrepare enables emergency management officials to anticipate the needs of the community long before a disaster strikes, allowing for a much more efficient and coordinated response," said Tom Axbey, president and CEO, Rave Mobile Safety. "SmartPrepare is growing rapidly, and through public-private partnerships, we look forward to continue providing municipalities across the U.S. with this unique ability to counter disasters and proactively take part in their own safety preparedness."

About Rave Mobile Safety  

Rave Mobile Safety is the most trusted software partner for campus and public safety. Used by leading primary and secondary schools, institutes of higher education and state and local agencies, the award-winning portfolio of Rave Panic Button, Rave Alert, Rave Guardian, Eyewitness, Smart911 and SmartPrepare enables millions to feel safe, secure and connected. Rave Mobile Safety is headquartered in Framingham, MA. For more information, please visit http://www.ravemobilesafety.com.

Contact:

Marty Querzoli

Davies Murphy Group

Public Relations for Rave Mobile Safety

[email protected]

(781) 418-2433

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SOURCE Rave Mobile Safety