In case of emergency

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For the television series, see In Case of Emergency (TV series).

The ICE (In Case of Emergency) program was conceived by paramedic Bob Brotchie in May 2005. The idea behind the program is to enable first responders (paramedics, firefighters, police officers) to identify people and contact their next of kin to obtain important medical information. People are encouraged to enter in their emergency contact person(s) in their mobile phone book in the following format 1ICE-mum, 2ICE-dad, 3ICE etc. The number in front of the word ICE keeps the ICE contacts at the top of the list. The popularity of the program has spread across Europe, and has started to grow into North America.

ICE symbol

To further promote the use of ICE a new simple, highly recognizable symbol has been developed as a free public service to help emergency personnel quickly locate where the emergency contact information is on an unresponsive patient. The ICE symbol was developed by Mark Balduzzi, a safety professional, in Syracuse, New York in July 2005 to give the public do-it-yourself tools, so organizations and individuals can further promote the use of ICE and to help quickly locate emergency information. For example if the ICE symbol is located on a cellular phone in the form of a sticker, emergency responders will know immediately that the patient has programmed ICE into their cell phones. This symbol has been developed for FREE use and distribution. All are encouraged to use this symbol to promote safety and emergency preparedness.

In developed countries some 80% or more of people carry a mobile phone, and the police or paramedics often use them to identify victims at road traffic accidents or other incidents. The idea of ICE is that everyone should put an emergency contact name and number into their phone under the headword "ICE". This would give the emergency services personnel a standard place to look.

Following research carried out by Vodafone that showed that fewer than 25% of people carry any details of who they would like telephoned following a serious accident, a campaign encouraging people to do this was started in May 2005 by Bob Brotchie of the East England Ambulance Service in the UK. The idea has taken off since the bomb attacks in London on 7 July 2005.

Interviewed on 12 July 2005 on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Brotchie said:

I was reflecting on some difficult calls I've attended, where people were unable to speak to me through injury or illness and we were unable to find out who they were. I discovered that many people, obviously, carry mobile phones and we were using them to discover who they were. It occurred to me that if we had a uniform approach to searching inside a mobile phone for an emergency contact then that would make it easier for everyone.

Mr Brotchie also urged mobile phone manufacturers to support the campaign by adding an ICE heading to phone number lists of all new mobile phones.

Around the same time - at least as early as 12 July - hoax emails began circulating suggesting that the campaign was actually "phase one of a phone based virus that is laying a path for propagating very quickly", or that customers would be charged for the use of this "feature". This claim has been subsequentially called out as an urban legend. Matt Ware, of the East Anglian Ambulance Service, has been asking people to disregard emails making this claim.

"I have been inundated with emails and phone calls from people worried that, having put ICE into their mobiles, they are now going to be charged for the privilege," he added. "We would like to assure people that that’s not the case."

There are some who consider there to be weaknesses to the idea, not least that best practice recommends that mobile phone handsets should be PIN protected; also that phones are vulnerable to loss, damage or theft.

Given the pervasiveness of mobile phones and the average user's lack of concern related the above weaknesses, an inexpensive software application for mobile phones called ICE First that allows users to store emergency medical information on the phone has been downloaded and recommended by thousands of first responders in the US.

The cards issued by the ICE Contact service carry a membership number and freephone number. Emergency personnel ring the number and quote the membership number and are given any medical information the member has stored; call centre staff contact the next of kin leaving the medical staff free to treat.

In the ICE First mobile phone application, emergency medical information about the mobile phone user is stored right on the mobile phone, allowing emergency personnel to have immediate access to a user's medical and contact information.