What3Words
What3Words – The App That Saves Lives
On many of my First Aid training courses the What3Words App has come up in conversation with many wishing to know what it is and how it works. So I thought I would share this information and therefore put together this blog to direct anyone wishing to know more information on What3Words that can, and has saved lives to many lone and rural workers and many others in a situation where they need help and do not know where they are.
What Is What3Words?
What3words is an app that has divided the world into 57 trillion 3m by 3m squares and given each a unique three word ‘address’. It means, a person’s exact location can be pinpointed, more accurately than a street name or postcode, in the event of an emergency. The caller can simply describe precisely where help is needed, using just three words.
For example: If a farmer brought down an overhead line with his tractor, it would take approximately 12 minutes for a call advisor to work out where he was in the field, but the app would take seconds. To be able to remove any potential delay is a fantastic innovation.”
What3words has been backed by police, with everyone urged to download the app saying it had already been used to help save lives. It’s already being used by many emergency services to help get resources straight to the scene of an incident more effectively.
South Yorkshire Police have used the app to locate a 65-year-old man who became trapped after falling down a railway embankment, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service found a woman who had crashed her car but was unsure where she was and Humberside Police have reported being able to quickly resolve a hostage situation after the victim was able to tell officers exactly where she was being held.
How Does It Work?
The app is free to download for both iOS and Android phones and, once installed, does not need an online connection to work. The three-word format also works anywhere in the world, in 36 languages.
In an article from the BBC news, “Kicked. Converged. Soccer” are the three words that saved Jess Tinsley and her friends after they got lost in a forest on a dark, wet night.
They had planned a five-mile circular stroll through the 4,900 acre (2,000 hectare) woodland Hamsterley Forest, in County Durham, on Sunday evening, but after three hours they were hopelessly lost.
At 22:30 BST they found a spot with phone signal and dialled 999.
One of the first things the call-handler told them to do was download the what3words app. Once it is downloaded all you need to do is select the language format and then click “allow” your phone to find you location. Once you “allow” the location the 3 words will be displayed.
Within a minute of its download, the police said they knew where the group was and the soaked and freezing walkers were swiftly found by the Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team.
Not only is this an amazing tool for an emergency situation, the app has many other fun features such as organising meetups or meet for adventures, planning a treasure hunt, saving favourite spots, and many more.
Click Here to download the App
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