Ranker bill will provide critical information to emergency personnel

During the 10-day telecommunications outage in San Juan County last November, two horrible situations occurred because red tape prevented first responders from locating the most vulnerable in their time of need.
 
With communications down, the fire department requested locations of Life Alert customers. Because confidentiality rules prevented the company from revealing the locations of their subscribers, two people who had been in need of medical attention went without it for several days. Tragically, one of these people later passed away.
 
Senate Bill 6554, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, will remedy this situation in the future. It ensures the location of Life Alert subscribers will be provided if a similar situation occurs while at the same time maintaining the privacy of their customers.
 
“This is about public safety and allowing our first responders access to all the information they need to do their job in a time of crisis,” Ranker said. “I’d like to thank Orcas Island Fire Chief Kevin O’Brien for traveling all the way down to Olympia today to testify on this bill. His insights were crucial.”
 
Life Alert customer information is confidential and may only be used by first responders in responding to the emergency that prompted the information request. Any first responder receiving the information must destroy it at the end of the emergency and give written notification of such destruction to the company.
 
Life Alert services allow persons in need of emergency assistance to contact a call center through the activation of a wearable device, such as a pendant or bracelet.
 
The bill now awaits action on the Senate floor.