Recent reports show an average of 358,300 house fires in the United States annually. From these incidents, an average of 2,620 civilians die, 500 of whom are children (14 years old or younger). These alarming numbers serve as a reminder of how quickly an emergency can occur and how vital it is to be prepared.
To respond to this distressing reality, Dr. Jessica Respus developed a smartphone application that assists users in preparing for and responding to house fires and other emergencies. The Life Defender Alert app is a mobile safety app that champions child safety by preparing children and their families for emergencies with easy access to life-saving resources.
Features That Ensure a High Level of Safety in Homes
According to Dr. Respus, one aspect of safety that is often overlooked is the functionality of household infrastructure, specifically windows and smoke detectors. In emergencies, such as when a child needs immediate access to escape during a fire, faulty windows can be a fatal hazard. The monthly window and smoke detector checks of the Life Defender Alert app aim to address this oversight by reminding individuals of their duty to maintain the security and functionality of their home’s infrastructure. The Life Defender Alert app promotes family safety by ensuring their homes are safe and capable of withstanding emergencies.
Having working smoke detectors is of the utmost importance to ensure safety in case of a fire. Unfortunately, according to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths occur due to faulty smoke detectors or none at all. This terrifying statistic makes it clear that all homes need an effective solution to manage smoke detectors across households nationwide.
“Thankfully, the Life Defender Alert app provides just this! It sends users reminders to routinely check their smoke detector to ensure it is functioning properly and can effectively alert households if danger strikes. With the use of this app, we can actively prevent needless casualties from fires in our homes and provide valuable peace of mind for families everywhere,” Dr. Respus shares.
Ensuring Children’s Safety Outdoors
In addition to its home safety features, the Life Defender Alert app includes a HELP feature that allows children to immediately dispatch local police, fire rescue, and EMS with the click of a button during an emergency. This added layer of security reassures parents that their child has access to prompt and dependable assistance when they are not present.
Furthermore, the app also contains an Instant Notification feature that enables children to discreetly contact their parents from any location in case of a crisis. Once activated, the app will instantly notify the parents of the origin of the message, and give them the option to take appropriate actions, such as contacting local authorities or providing verbal guidance.
The app also provides an extremely helpful feature by designating a central location where all family members should assemble in the event of a fire, home danger, school kidnapping, or other emergency. This eliminates the need for frantic phone calls or searching and provides peace of mind to both children and parents.
Ensuring Children’s Safety In School
In today’s society, bullying has become an ongoing problem that affects many children in schools across the country. However, with the use of technology, there are now tools available to help combat bullying in real time. Life Defender Alert is a program that stands out among its peers as a reliable child line of defense. Through the unique bullying feature, parents can program important representatives’ email addresses, such as guidance counselors, principals, or teachers, to enable their child to send an email at the click of a button. This action notifies an adult present in their school facility of the bullying incidents.
The program also offers numerous ways for children to cope with the emotional turmoil of bullying. These include mental health videos on a wide variety of topics, as well as direct access to the National Suicide Prevention hotline. Overall, Life Defender Alert offers an effective solution to help combat bullying and promote student well-being in a proactive way.
A Safer Place for Children
“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something to help protect the most vulnerable – the children. I hope this app can challenge everyone to prepare by taking necessary safety precautions to ensure that there will be a reduced number of lives lost due to fires or any emergency. The importance of being proactive in emergency preparedness should not be underestimated, ” Dr. Respus shares.
By developing the Life Defender Alert app, Dr. Respus hopes to create a safer environment for children and ensure no lives are lost due to fire, home dangers, suicide, or any other emergency. Life Defender Alert will be released on July 16, 2023, in iOS and Android app stores.
