I came across this press release that

explains I.C.E. so I reposted it here

Does Your Cell Phone have ICE???

Rampart Search and Rescue Press Release dated August 1st, 2005

The I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) system for highlighting emergency contact(s) in a cell phonebook was the brainchild of a British paramedic, who has often struggled to get contact details from shocked or injured patients. His ambulance district in East Anglia and the Vodafone mobile network last year launched a national campaign encouraging people to enter I.C.E. in front of loved ones' contact information in their phones so emergency responders know exactly who to call, right away.

Fueled by the London bombings, a related Washington Post story and the Internet, the idea has recently spread to Colorado.

Paramedics, police and firefighters often waste valuable time trying to figure out which name in a cell phone to call when disaster strikes, according to current and retired members of the emergency services, who said they must look through wallets for clues, or scroll through cell address books and guess. Many people identify their spouse by name in their cell, making them indistinguishable from other entries.

The best part the cost of this is ZERO nothing to buy, no Cost to the user. The best deal of all........

Getting Started with ICE

On most mobile phones you simply need to select ‘Contacts’ and choose ‘Add New Contact’, then enter the letters ‘ICE’ next to the name, followed by the telephone number of your next of kin. Make sure you choose a number that’s easy to get in touch with – a home number could be useless in an emergency if the person works full time. We recommend that you enter a daytime and a evening numbers where this is possible.

"If a person can't speak, had a stroke or heart attack, it makes it easier to find out who to contact," says David Haskin Director of Rampart Search and Rescue in Adams County, Colorado. He goes son to say, the practice would be very helpful for teenagers and pre-teens, who could program contact information for their parents into their phones. "Most children in those age groups don't carry wallets with any kind of identification, but many of them are carrying a cell phone after Columbine."

Many emergency crews in the U.S. are finely encouraging it. Most people don't carry type of listings for their emergency contact(s). Being armed with "ICE" can help save time and just takes minutes to do.

"If someone found my cell number, I would want them to be able to call my wife or my family to let them know what has happened," says Haskin. "If more and more people put the ICE thing on their cell phones...we'll see more lives saved because of it hopefully."

End of Press Release

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**NOTE: RSAR has received numerous email responses to the above announcement, each with a suggestion on how to make your "ICE" number a little more visible to a RSAR rescuer or police officer. One of the best suggestions is putting a dot or "." before the letters "I-C-E." By doing this, your "ICE" number will be at the very top of your phone book, thus very easy to spot.

Another thing: Many cell phones won't let you put in the same number twice, so try what we tried. If your "ICE" is the same number as someone else on your list, just put a "1" in front of the area code and phone number...much like you would if you were dialing from a "land line" or you home. Your cell doesn't care whether you use a "1" or not most of the time.