Metropolitan Police in London have released a clip of a 999 call from a four-year-old boy who saved his mum’s life to remind parents the importance of teaching young children their address and how to use 999 in an emergency.
The young boy called 999 from his mum’s mobile phone on Tuesday, 7 March and was put through to a police call handler.
After the call handler asked him where his mummy was, the boy responded that he thought she was dead because “she’s closing her eyes and she’s not breathing.”
Remaining calm, the call handler managed to keep the boy talking and found out where he lived in Kenley, Croydon and local officers and an ambulance were immediately sent to the address. Because the boy was able to give the call handler the correct address, it saved police vital minutes in being able to send officers to the address straight away.
Thirteen minutes after receiving the call, officers arrived and managed to force entry inside the house where they found the boy with his twin brother and younger brother all inside with their mum, who was lying unconscious on the floor. Paramedics were able to give life-saving first aid to the woman and she was taken to hospital after regaining consciousness at the home.
It later emerged that the boy used his mum’s smartphone to get in touch with police. He firstly managed to unlock it by pressing her thumb on the phone and then used the ‘Siri’ function to ask for help and it dialled 999 to put him through to emergency services.
Audio of the 999 call:
Chief Superintendent Ade Adelekan, from the Met’s Command and Control Unit (MetCC), where 999 calls are handled, said: “Hearing this call brings home the importance of teaching your young child their home address and how to call police or emergency services in an emergency situation.
“If you do nothing else today, then I’d implore any parents of young children to sit down with them and make sure they know what to do in this kind of situation and that they know how to contact police or other emergency services in an emergency. As this case demonstrates so poignantly, it could really be the difference between life and death.
“It’s an amazing story and thanks to his quick thinking and by asking ‘Siri’ for help, this little boy saved his mum’s life and it means she is still here and can be extremely proud of him and his brothers.”
Source: Metropolitan Police (London, UK)
MacDailyNews Take: Great job, Roman (and Siri)!
Roman sounds like a very bright and strong young man.
“…It later emerged that the boy used his mum’s smartphone to get in touch with police. He firstly managed to unlock it by pressing her thumb on the phone and then used the ‘Siri’ function to ask for help and it dialled 999 to put him through to emergency services….”
Amazing.
For a 4 year old, you da man, Roman, you da man!!!!!!
Forgive me if I sound pedantic, BUT: seriously. Siri, Alexa, ad nauseum – those are interfaces, not innovations. We are accessing the same information through the same protocols just using something other than our fingers, and even voice control has been around for a very long time. At root, he used an iPhone to do it, it doesn’t really matter how he accessed it. The interface is not the thing or what is powering the thing. The iPhone itself was a revelation, everything since has been a tweak, there is nothing ‘innovative’ about voice assistants or chat bots. Good on the boy, but let’s not get carried away. There’s enough silly hype in Sillystring Valley.
Yes, the technology has been around for a while, but making it easy enough for a 4 year old to use it UNASSISTED, has not.
There’s a ton of neat technology out there that will never be used by consumers, because those technologies require an engineering degree to navigate the interface.
Team/Waterloo in a past life?
I need Roman helping me how to use Siri in case emergency.
How come he was so smart, unlocked mama’s iPhone and calling the cops using Siri at four years old, that was BRILLIANT!. Good grief, Siri does not understand my accent!. Sometimes I got mad, I yelled at Siri.
Roman did brilliantly in getting help in that way.
For the rest of us, make sure that your friends and family understand that it’s not necessary to unlock an iPhone ( or any other phone as far as I’m aware ) in order to call the emergency services, but iPhones go a little further in that respect.
When you press the home button without using a recognised fingerprint it comes up with a screen to enter your passcode, but there’s also a button marked ‘Emergency’. That’s the way to dial the emergency services, but on that emergency screen is another button at the bottom marked *Medical ID.
First responders are trained to press that button if they are with a patient who is unable to communicate. You can enter that information via your Apple Health app, using the medical ID button at the bottom of the app. Obviously if you have an unusual blood type, allergy or special medical conditions, you would enter that information, but there are also fields for entering contact details for next of kin. Everybody should put that information into their Health app. It can also be used if you lose your iPhone and an honest person wishes to return it to you. As with everything to do with Apple, you decide what to share and everything else in your iPhone remains locked.
My wife gets into my phone the same way, by using my hand after I’ve passed out. 😉
(I’m joking lol)
The power to be your best, even at 4 years old. What a great story about an easy to use interface.
Way to go Apple!
no Apple Watch required!
Listen to his use of language. Not one word wasted. This kid IS the sharpest tool in the shed
Operator: Hello, this is the police. What is your emergency?
Roman: Hello, I’m Roman.
O: Where’s your mummy?
R: She’s at home.
O: Where are you?
R: At home as well.
O: Can you do me a favour? Can you go and get mummy?
R: We can’t, she’s dead.
O: You said mummy was there – what do you mean she’s dead?
R: It means that she’s closing her eyes and she’s not breathing.