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Medical alert necklace triggers Va. firefighters to breach wrong home

The woman was at work when firefighters showed up to her home and did not have access to her cell phone.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A medical alert necklace is to blame for firefighters breaching the wrong home in Alexandria Tuesday.

"Jane Smith" said Fairfax County firefighters were dispatched to North Kings Highway with GPS coordinates to her house after an alert was triggered by a medical device.

Smith, whose name she asked WUSA9 to withhold, said she was at work when firefighters showed up to her home and did not have access to her cell phone.

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"If I hadn't received a text message from my neighbors, I wouldn't even have known this had happened or that anyone had come out," Smith said. "The fire department, doing everything right, they really went out of their way to try to get into my condo without breaching the door. They have to trust the company knows what they're talking about, so there's a lot of trust involved with that kind of situation. If a company--I don't want to say irresponsible--but is relying on technology that's not precise like GPS coordinates, that should be conveyed."

Fairfax County fire officials are investigating the incident. It's unclear whether the person who triggered the alert was located and/or treated. WUSA9's email to Medscope, the medical device company Smith said sent the alert, seeking information on how GPS coordinates are used was not returned.

"When I talked to the insurance company, they said this is not the first time they've had a call like this. They said this happens more often than you think," Smith said. "So, as near as I can figure, someone was either walking by, driving by or whatever and set off their alert. I mean, for all I know, with Metro so close behind my units, they could've even been on the Metro."

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