Lawrence County Fire & Rescue has observed a notable rise in automatic crash detection notifications, which are alerts generated by smartphones or in-vehicle systems following an impact. These notifications are now frequently surpassing the number of traditional fire alarm responses. According to officials, a significant portion of these alerts are false alarms, often triggered by devices falling from vehicles, being dropped, or activated during off-road recreational activities. Despite the prevalence of these erroneous alerts, emergency responders treat each notification with the same urgency as they would a standard 911 crash call.
On Wednesday, November 5, emergency units from Lawrence County Fire & Rescue were dispatched to respond to three distinct automatic crash notifications. The first incident occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 43 South and Lambs Ferry Road, where responders discovered a phone that had fallen from a vehicle, confirming it was a false alarm.
The second notification came in just before noon, near Highway 64 East and Pulaski Highway in the New Prospect area. This incident involved a serious two-vehicle head-on collision, prompting crews to extricate one individual from the wreckage. In total, two patients were airlifted to level-one trauma centers for urgent medical care.
Later that night, around midnight, another automatic crash notification was reported in the 2300 block of Fall River Road within the Crossroads community. This incident was confirmed to involve a crash resulting in serious injuries, and one patient was subsequently flown to a trauma center for treatment.
As the team was preparing a release on Thursday evening, they received yet another automatic crash notification, this time on Old Florence Pulaski Road in the Leoma area. Emergency crews arrived promptly to find a vehicle that had veered off the road and collided with a tree, resulting in minor injuries.
Lawrence County Fire & Rescue underscored the importance of automatic crash notification technology as a potentially life-saving tool, despite the fact that many alerts are accidental. Officials encourage residents to promptly contact 911 if their device inadvertently triggers an automatic crash alert, ensuring that emergency services can respond effectively to genuine emergencies.