AN IDEA first introduced some years ago in the United States is now being adopted by Albufeira’s Voluntary Fire and Ambulance Service in an effort to help save more lives.
The idea is simple yet effective: all you need to do is include the contact details of family and friends, who should be called in the case of an emergency, under the initials ECE – this abbreviation stands for Em Caso de Emergência in Portuguese – in your mobile phone contacts section. This can prove to be extremely useful and the Bombeiros Voluntários de Albufeira are appealing to everyone to adopt this simple procedure.
An entry entitled ECE in your mobile phone address book can include not only the contact number of the person to call in an emergency, but additional information such as blood type or the existence of any medical problems and details of any allergies to any particular kind of medicine.
The ECE system not only means that the victim may be reunited with their family members much more quickly, but it can also prove to be a very valuable aid for the medical teams involved, perhaps even meaning the difference between life and death.
According to António Gonçalves, commander of Albufeira Bombeiros, “no previous initiative of this kind appears to have been undertaken so far in Portugal”.
