HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — There is a post going around Facebook asking people to create a 911 profile to help first responders get to you quicker during an emergency. But is it legit?
The post appears to be sponsored by the Greater Harris County 911 Emergency Network. It asks that everyone create a family emergency profile, “A quick, easy, and painless way to inform 911 dispatchers of vital information needed in case of emergency to help us respond faster.”
Marti asked the Verify team, “Is this safe to respond to?”
Our source for this is the Greater Harris County 911, which provides services to 49 cities in and around Harris and Fort Bend counties.
A spokesperson for the agency wrote the Verify team, “Yes the advertisement is part of our summer annual media campaign to encourage residents to sign up and create their own emergency profile.”
The Facebook post provides a link to the signup page, which also includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
So, what kind of information is the county looking for?
Greater Harris County 911 wants to know about any medical issues, special needs (whether someone in your family is wheelchair-bound or deaf), languages spoken in the home, and so forth. They won’t ask for personal information like your Social Security number.
So, we can Verify the Facebook post is from the Greater Harris County 911.
The service allows you to register up to ten people in your home. The spokesperson says, just remember to tell them you’ve done so and to update your family profile every six months.