CELL PHONE EMERGENCY FEATURES

In the last year or so, there has been a lot of discussion on phone emergency features and use. There are some great ideas and some bad ideas when it comes to phones particularly cell phones. I will argue that they are useful tools, however; they are not the end all be all and have various shortcomings. With any tool there are pros/cons, especially one that requires signal, batteries or power.

Everyone carries a phone with them daily. This is where the basis for argument is for me. It is an essential tool in your everyday life, therefore; if it has the capabilities, what do you have to lose in learning about effectively using what is at your disposal?

This is important for many reasons, mostly daily use if you are in a vehicle crash or some other type of emergency. Additionally if you are an outdoors person and head out of cell phone range, and have a situation, the emergency satellite feature is a game changer.

For the purposes of this article, the iPhone will be discussed. Androids have the same capabilities typically to include the Satellite feature. iPhones and most androids have the following functions:

EMERGENCY FEATURES ON IPHONES

                                      

All Images on this page were retrieved from Apple’s Support Website: https://support.apple.com/

As you can see above, the phone has two main options called Medical ID, and Emergency Call (SOS). The Medical ID is a great tool, similar to our OWA Contact Card in that it has pertinent medical information if you or someone is incapacitated, this information can be relayed to Medical Services, and it is automatically sent to Emergency Services if an emergency call is activated from your device. Elements that you can enter are Medical Conditions, Allergies and Reactions, Medications, blood type, height/weight etc. What about lock screen? You do not need to enter a password, just hold the top volume and power button for a few seconds, or press the power button 5 times.

The emergency call features, allow you to choose who additionally you want contacted along with emergency services, and various other options such as a feature of calling after a vehicle crash, an option that should be on if your phone has that feature.

   

Another new feature is Crash/Fall Detection. After a severe car crash or a hard fall and you’re unresponsive, an automatic Crash Detection or Fall Detection notification to emergency services may be communicated by your Apple Watch, iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro using Emergency SOS.  That is amazing that it does it on it's own!

PHONE EMERGENCY FEATURE SATELLITE

                                        

When you’re in a place with no cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, you can still use your iPhone to call or text emergency services via satellite connection. How amazing is that??? Once you’re connected, your iPhone starts a text conversation with emergency responders by sharing critical information like your Medical ID and emergency contact information. You can also share your location.

                                            

LIMITATIONS TO BE AWARE OF

-You need iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 16.1 or later.

-All Satellite messages sent are encrypted.

-Emergency SOS via satellite is available in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, and the U.K.

-Satellite connection might not work in places above 62° latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska.

-Emergency SOS via satellite is free for two years after the activation of iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro.

-If your emergency contacts have a non-Apple device or don’t have iOS 16.1 or later, they receive a text message that alerts them about your emergency. In the U.S. and Canada, this message comes from the number 767911. In Europe, this message comes from 767112.

If you are worried about any information Apple may be collecting from your phone, here is a link to Apple’s Privacy Policy.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO SET UP THE PHONE EMERGENCY FEATURES:

Set up your Medical ID and add emergency contacts in the Health app

Share your location in Find My

Learn how to share your location via satellite

WORKS CITED

Apple. (2023). Use Emergency SOS on your iPhone. Retrieved from Apple Support: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208076

Apple. (2022). Use Crash Detection on iPhone or Apple Watch to call for help in an accident. Retrieved from Apple Support: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213225

Apple. (2022). Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone 14. Retrieved from Apple Support: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426

Apple. (2022). Emergency SOS via satellite available today on the iPhone 14 lineup in the US and Canada.  Retrieved from Apple Support:  https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-satellite-available-today-on-iphone-14-lineup/

#Emergency #Technology #havelockchamber #SOS #Medicalinformation #tools #prepared #survival #everydaysurvival

SURVIVAL AND EMERGENCY FIRE STARTERS

We are always on the hunt for a new fire making product, especially when it comes to Survival and Emergency Fire Starters. Recently a buddy of mine recommended this new to me brand of fire starters from Bigfoot Bushcraft. I’ve used the vaseline soaked cotton ball, wet-fires, live fire, tinder quicks and on and on. I wanted to put these out for folks because I think the two brands mentioned here are excellent fire starters. The generic fire tinder does not cut the mustard, but if you coat in vaseline it may elongate the burn time. This was based on testing them, price point and burn time.

The two tests I performed are demonstrated in a video below and what I would like to add in the written form is that I did notice a few things that are apparent in the video, but I’d like to point out.
SURVIVAL AND EMERGENCY FIRE STARTERS TESTING

I am very happy with both the Wazoo and Bigfoot Bushcraft tinders and will gladly use both brands. In my opinion, both will make great Survival and Emergency Fire Starters.

**DISCLAIMER** – the video has time lapses so you don’t have to watch 11 minutes of burn times.

NOTES ON THE TEST

1. On both tests, the Wazoo Fire Plug was more difficult to light compared to the other two, not a huge deal because once lit, it burned hot!

2. The Wazoo Fire Plug burned the longest during both tests., this may be a bit skewed due to lighting a little slower.

3. The Bigfoot Bushcraft Fire Plug burned very hot and quickly lit.

4. The generic tinder was absolutely not worth a purchase. I def recommend adding vaseline to it if you have any of those types laying around.

I plan to use up all the generic tinders I have for practice and demonstrations, because they are definitely not what I would like to keep in my emergency stash of absolute fire starters.

The two tests conducted were a burn with no fluffing of the tinder, and then a burn where the tinder was cut and fluffed. I used a lighter to ignite on both tests, and may do this again to verify consistency with the tinders (eliminating the generic tinder) and trying other ignition methods and the results are:

FIRE STARTER COMPARISON STATS

Test	Brand	Time
1	Bigfoot Bushcraft	6:29**
1	Wazoo Survival Gear	6:30**
1	Generic	1:26
	**Burned hot even after coal went out
2	Bigfoot Bushcraft	4:50
2	Wazoo	5:05
2	Generic	1:18

Results of testing for time burned

Please click the link below to go to the Bigfoot Bushcraft brand website, and use code OWABIGFOOT for 15% off of your order.

Click photo to go to Bigfoot Bushcraft or the link:

www.bigfootbushcraft.com

For the Wazoo Survival Gear brand, click the link below for their website, and Wazoo usually offers a 10% off of first orders.

Click photo to go Wazoo Survival Gear or the link:

www.wazoogear.com

These two brands are definitely some of the best fire starter tinders on the market. These will help you in a camping, survival or emergency situation, regardless of wet weather or wind to make a fire.

#BigFootBushcraft #havelockchamber #Survival #Preparedness #Emergency #FireStarter #Best #OnTheMarket #OldWorldAlliance #WetWeather #Bushcraft #InTheWoods #Wilderness #WildernessSurvival #Camping