Since 2005

 ICE4SAFETY recognizes Bob Brotchie from the U.K. as having the most pronounced role on bringing this practice to worldwide attention. Bob actively continues to do so today and in turn supports the efforts being conducted to promote the use of ICE by ICE4SAFETY and EMS-Options.

ICE continues to gain considerable utility not only for use in electronic devices, but as a business and community based preparedness tool that is exceptionally easy to promote, has considerable flexibility in use and is simple to use in everyday life. The concept stresses the need for people to take an active role and more responsibility for their own safety by actually participating in the preparedness process themselves.

There are no requirements that anyone subscribe or become a member of any group or submit any recurring fee in order to benefit from using ICE – unlike some commercial safety products on the market. This is also not a government program….and zero government bailout funds are sponsoring any of this community service. 

The reality is people don’t have to purchase anything in order to take advantage of the ICE concept!  You can however advance the cause of your own personal preparedness and safety by the purchase of licensed ICE products such as the widely acclaimed Smart-ICE app (since 2009) and theICEDevice for active people and outdoor enthusiasts.

Smart-ICE has received yet another accolade – this time from PARENTS MAGAZINE as being one of only 5 phone apps tech-savvy parents MUST HAVE.  Babble Top 50 and EMS Magazines all have recognize the practical value and build quality of the Smart-ICE app.

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.

The ICE4SAFETY icon 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.   Free DIY Tools Here at ICE4SAFETY    

Various trademarked ICE Images 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 – all without detracting from the essential purpose. 

 Reflective ICE Placards, ICE Stickers and ICE Banners can easily be used to identify emergency vehicles, 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.  Unlike most hard to recognize symbols, ICE4SAFETY’s symbol was designed by safety professionals for immediate recognition and that is the sole purpose – emergencies! 

 The use of the symbol by individuals and organizations for emergency purposes is not restricted.  ICE4SAFETY also provides a FREE ICE-QR Generator on the website so you can create your own QR 2D Barcodes for promotional purposes.  This makes the ICE symbol quite unique amongst all others.

Creative versions of the ICE image have been available since 2005 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.  Large municipal customers have found the freedom to use the free ICE Images in their safety programs an overiding benefit.

E.123 – ICE International Electronic Standard

In 2008 the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) a United Nations Agency, promulgated an international standard for the use of ICE in electronic devices designating it E.123. ICE4SAFETY was selected to collaborate with UTI due to the long-standing public service nature of our safety effort and the widely recognized non commercialized symbol representing ICE.  You can review this selection process, ICE4SAFETY’s role and explanation of the standard in the 2008 ITU Annual Report and online at their website or on Wikipedia.

Standardizing the programming of electronic devices by utilizing Arabic Numerals to denote primary emergency contacts simplifies the process, reduces errors by users and makes it easier for first responders to locate emergency information in an emergency.  By default, all electronic devices respond to the use of this method because of their digital design making it ”common sense” to adopt.   

US Trademark Office had issued the Final Trademark Notice May 10, 2011 for the ICE E.123 symbol design!

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 information on the ICE Blogs that people can use in their everyday lives as well as information, links and discussion on long-term survival in times of extended crisis.

ICE4SAFETY has been providing the use of ICE for FREE since 2005 and we still provide sample ICE KITS for those who wish to provide a SASE to the address on our website.  Free Kits consist of ICE Cards, Stickers for home, vehicle, phones, Medical Emergency/Contact forms (also online free!) Card Holders and information about Smart-ICE apps.   

Find ICE4SAFETY on Twitter as well with over 1000 Preparedness Tweets!