If you should become incapacitated or in an accident, emergency workers need a quick way to find out who to contact. Paramedics, police and firefighters can waste valuable time trying to figure out which name in a cell phone to call in an emergency. They need to talk immediately to a family member or close friend so you can get the medical attention you need as soon as possible.

A commonly accepted method of notifying emergency workers is to put the name of your emergency contact in your cell phone phone book with the word "ICE" in front of it. "ICE" stands for "In Case of Emergency." For example, if your emergency contact is Sheila, you should put "ICE -- Sheila" in your phone book. That way, emergency workers treating you can quickly contact Sheila to get the information about you that they need. You can also have more than one emergency contact -- just list them as ICE1, ICE2, and so on. Take a look at the pictures on the right to see two examples of cell phones with ICE contact information.

Now that police officers, firefighters and paramedics are on the lookout for ICE numbers, putting your emergency contact in your phone could help save your life one day in case of emergency. Please take a moment to put your emergency contact information in your cell phone today.

(Source: Illinois ICE program.)