ICE, a Good Idea? (1 Viewer)

I got one of those emails that at first I was going to ignore, it was another one of those internet myths being propagated. Then I read it, and thought it was a good idea.

The email was relating that if you're a patient in a ambulance heading to the hospital, the paramedics may take your cell phone and try to find a contact to call on your behalf. The email suggested that you have a contact labeled ICE (in case of emergency) so the paramedics will know who to call. You could have more than one (ICE1, ICE2).

Whaddya think? A good idea?

As soon as I posted this, I thought of another entry in the contacts list: IF FOUND CALL ME.

Heck, I thought your topic was about Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the new name for the INS.

I can attest that this has already worked for me, albeit in a non-emergency situation. Someone called me one day and said they found my wife's phone so they dialed the ICE number on it, which took them to me. Turns out my wife had dropped her phone in the lobby of her building (probably while pulling out her photo ID) and hadn't even realized she'd lost it yet. Anyway, long story short, my wife was okay and thanks to an honest (and informed) person we got the phone back!

Last time I was in an ambulance they never used my phone.

There's one vote for. I'm wondering if there's a down side to this idea?

There was an article in the NY Times a while ago, saying if you find a cell phone to call "mom" whoever she is. A mom will always figure out how to get the phone back to the owner.

Not sure that's "one of vote", since any number might have produced a similar result: I found a lost cell in a hotel lobby, dialed the latest number on the call records, spoke to someone who somehow got in contact with the owner, who then called her phone (me) and met with me just a few minutes later to get it (now that I think about it, how did I know it was the phone owner who picked it up? Ahem )

Still, I don't see any harm in that ICE business.

'ICE' Cell Phone Plan Would Help Rescuers

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H

I have two "ICE" listings in my cell phone. "ICE-1" is my wife's cell phone and "ICE-2" is my parents. I've never had to use these thankfully, but I put them in originally because when I lived in Virginia there were public service announcements on the radio all the time about putting ICE entries in your cell phone for emergency situations. It sounded like a decent idea and it's really one of those "why not" situations. I can't really think of a situation where you would regret having an ICE entry in your contact list unless you are very limited in how many contacts you can store in your phone.

I heard about this a couple years ago, and created an ICE entry in my PDA. I've not done one for my cellphone though. I guess I should now.

I honestly expected this thread to be about Internal Combustion Engines.

I don't see a downside to this, and I'm putting an ICE contact in my and my wife's phone when I'm done with the computer tonight.

Oh, and speaking of downside, I'm removing the MISTRESS, BOOKEE, and HITMAN contacts. (Or I'll at least rename them.)

Should I have my ICE contact ring my mistress, or my bookee?

(And, yes, I'm kidding. Who's got a bookee in this day and age?)


Johnny, it's a great idea, and I never heard of it until you took the time to make this thread. Thanks.

well i thought this topic was about ICE.you know the frozen water stuff.

anyway why not just label a contact, emergency or call this number in an emergency.

if i saw a number labeled
"ice" why would i have known it was an emergency number?

So did I...

I suppose if I relabel my wife's contact details as "Wife", that should work too? Right now my phone has a "Home" contact, but that's actually my mom's home number, not my current home, which isn't even in the phone, since (a) I'm not going to call myself, and (b) most times I need to call my wife it's while she's not at home and I'll call her cell (or sometimes her office).

I've read this use of ICE with some fellow EMTs that I am friends with and some SAR (Search and Rescue) and they say it is a good thing, will help them if they find you unconscious/dead and you either have no ID other than a cell phone or an ID but no contact information.. the ICE thing makes it easier for them to notify a loved one or a guardian.

Jay

The two posters above make a good point in that how many people will recognize the acronym? It makes me wonder how well know it is in the EMT community? WIFE would be pretty obvious to anyone.

This would be a good standard for the cell phone manufacturers to adopt. They could include in the phone a slot for emergency contacts. A slot that would be named the same across all cell phones.

My phone - the Voyager - has three of these actually. It puts a little red cross next to them when a contact is assigned as an ICE contact. Its the first I had heard of it.

I keep my phone locked, so unless they guess the security code, they'll only be able to call 911.