In Case of Emergency (ICE) Program

In Case of Emergency

What would happen if you are involved in an accident or become ill and can not communicate? How would emergency personnel know who to contact for you? Your cell phone contains a list of names and phone numbers, but how would anyone but you know which person is your closest family member or friend?

A paramedic in England developed a plan called ICE (or "In Case of Emergency"), where emergency response personnel could use a victim's cell phone to quickly locate emergency contact names and phone numbers. The plan suggests listing the word ICE in your cell phone contact list with phone numbers and names of your closest family members or friends. Emergency personnel trained to recognize the ICE campaign would know immediately who to call for you, in case of an emergency.

The SSU Department of Public Safety and the Portsmouth Police Department have ICE stickers for you to place on the back of your cell phone. This alerts emergency personnel to use your cell phone to contact your family on your behalf.

How do I set up ICE on my cell phone?

1. Select the Name Directory or Contacts List on your cell phone.
2. Enter ICE as the Contact Name or Last Name.
3. Enter the full name of the first person you would want contacted in case of an emergency, into the "First Name" field or other text field as: "1 First Last Name".
4. Example of entry - ICE, 1 Shawn Bear, 740-555-5555.
5. Repeat for additional names, changing the 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc.
6. Obtain an ICE sticker from the SSU Department of Public Safety or the Portsmouth Police Department *. Place the sticker on the back of your cell phone to alert emergency response personnel to use your phone to contact your family or closest friend listed under ICE.
7. Go one step further. Obtain a second sticker and place it in the upper left corner of your car windshield, driver's side. This will alert emergency response personnel to check your cell phone if you are unable to communicate.

* Portsmouth Police Dept is located at 728 Second Street, Portsmouth, Ohio, just west of the Ohio River Bridge.