Allegheny County and Channel 11 work together to test jewelry marketed to help you in an emergency

Inside a jewelry box is something touted to keep you and your loved ones safe. It’s a fancy keychain, with an emergency button hidden on the back.

Renee Shumway has a bracelet with similar features, and she used it to call for help.

“Then I realized, ‘Oh no, (I’ve) got to get out of this, I don’t feel comfortable,’” said Shumway.

Both pieces are types of panic button jewelry that are trending now. They’re designed to look just like a piece of jewelry, with a hidden button to contact you with family, friends or 911 in an emergency.

We wanted to see just how fast and accurate they are, so anchor Jennifer Tomazic tested it alongside Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown.

She started a timer and hit the panic button on the back of an invisaWear keychain. 23 seconds later, she got a text that read “Hi Jennifer. You’ve activated an emergency alert through your emergency device.”

Then it called Jennifer. That was one minute and 33 seconds after she hit the panic button.

When she didn’t answer, she got another text saying ADT was calling Allegheny County Emergency Management.

The records at the Allegheny County 911 center show a call from an invisaWear emergency number two minutes and 43 seconds after she hit the panic button.

“I was rather impressed with how fast the messaging back to you was from the service,” said Chief Brown.

However, it’s not faster than calling 911 from your phone.

It only took Jennifer nine seconds to connect with an emergency dispatcher.

Our sister station in Jacksonville, Florida tested a similar product called Flare. They also got a phone call and a text message, and then the company reached out to law enforcement. Our sister station says it took 20 minutes before deputies were alerted.

There’s an obvious reason for the jewelry: the discreetness of it.

“We wanted an attacker to have no idea that you’re calling for help,” the co-founder of invisaWear, Rajia Abdelaziz, told our sister station in Jacksonville.

An added benefit of the panic button jewelry, she says, is that it can also text five people, who you add to your emergency list with your location.

Jennifer’s photographer, Tony, was on her list and he got a text with her location six and a half minutes after she hit the panic button.

She asked invisaWear why her emergency contact wasn’t immediately alerted. They said they let those contacts know once police have been dispatched, because they don’t want them calling if police are trying to call.

“It’s good technology, " said Chief Brown. “It is just important for the user to understand the differences in using that device versus calling 911 direct. We’ll physically be able to see your location; it will be much, much faster.”

He says the real benefit is that you are talking to the call taker directly, so you can explain what the emergency is yourself, in case the third-party company doesn’t actually know what the problem is.

When it’s dangerous to speak or you just can’t, though, Chief Brown reminds us that you can also text 911 in Allegheny County.

“Its just like you would receive a text on a phone now. It’s going be immediate and it will be a two-way conversation between the call taker and the person texting,” said Chief Brown.

As long as you have location services on your phone turned on, they’ll be able to see exactly where you are. Chief Brown says it’s because they’re constantly updating their technology to keep up with the ever-changing emergency landscape, which now includes panic button jewelry.

“There are times when this device is going to be your only option,” said Chief Brown. “And it’s going to work.”

Emergency officials: Cell phones may not be able to access 911 Emergency officials: Cell phones may not be able to access 911

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