Sarasota County first responders partner with OnStar for better emergency preparedness

SARASOTA, Fla. - Every second counts in an emergency, and Sarasota County first responders now have another resource to be as prepared as possible when they get to a scene. 

They’re partnering with OnStar to gather information about a crash as it’s happening, like the crash’s exact location. 

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"You don't have to pick up your phone and dial 911; it will automatically call," Sally Lawrence, the 911 coordinator for Sarasota County, said. "So, we know that you've been in a crash. We pretty much know what has happened to your vehicle."

Sarasota County partners with the company RapidDeploy, which OnStar recently started working with, to send vital information about crashes directly to dispatchers.

"We get all of that data directly with the 911 call," Lawrence said.

The vehicle involved in the crash must have OnStar to be able to send the information.

That data includes where the crash was, what time it happened, the make and model of the vehicle, what part of the vehicle crashed, and more. 

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"It's extremely important … By getting this data and passing it out to the field, they know before they get on the scene what they're facing," Lawrence said. 

"The whole point is to get the operator off the phone as quickly as possible so that they can answer another phone call," she said. "So, if we can give them the data, they can trust the data, and the data can be sent out to the field without them having to hang on the phone and ask people questions. We've actually freed up that operator. So, it makes it so that the next emergency can be handled by that operator."

That’s something that is even more important as 911 calls in Sarasota County are on the rise. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said they saw close to 10,000 more emergency calls in 2023 compared to 2022. 

"All of this information before they get there prepares them in their head as to how they're going to approach the scene and how they're going to work with how many victims they have or whatnot," she said.

According to Lawrence, OnStar signing on with RapidDeploy cut out the middleman.

"OnStar themselves would call us with the information and say, ‘Hey, we had a crash notification and this is where it's at.’ Whereas now, we actually can listen in on the call, and we get all this data prior to," Lawrence said.

RapidDeploy also partners with Bosch, which makes Mercedes and Volkswagens. Lawrence said RapidDeploy is looking to partner with other companies too, and is currently working on a partnership with Ford and Tesla.