Toronto police are encouraging the use of a locator app called what3words to help in emergency situations following an incident on Wednesday that required an immediate response in a remote, largely unknown area.
“Our officers really needed to know as soon as they could where this person was located so they could assist,” said Const. Laura Brabant, corporate communications, Toronto Police Service.
Around 8 p.m., Toronto police received a call for a person in medical distress near the Rouge River but the exact location was unknown by the caller.
“Information was received that the person in crisis had taken a photo and sent it to their friends, and it indicated that they were near a body of water and that the information was that they potentially had gone into the water,” said Brabant.
She noted that the 911 dispatcher suggested the what3words app as a tool to help locate the individual.
“They can just text you the link and all you do is click on the link and three random words will pop up … and that can narrow down the location,” she said.
In this case, there were GPS co-ordinates linked to the photograph received by the caller of the individual in crisis and Toronto Police were able to use that information to arrive promptly at the scene.
The bottom line, Brabant pointed out, is that an exact location is critical in an emergency situation.
“We need to know where you are the quickest way possible,” she added.
The goal of the what3words app is to find, save and share precise locations easily. It divides the world into 10-foot squares, giving each one a unique three-word address. For emergency services, this may be a game-changer.
“Great for urban areas, but also great if you’re out in the bush or in northern Ontario or somewhere where you’re not familiar, it can really help any emergency services, firefighters and paramedics and police to narrow down your location so we can get our services to faster to assist you,” said Brabant.
Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words app, said “there is a bit of a myth that whenever you call the emergency services, that your location is automatically sent to them.”
“It’s actually very rare that that kind of technology is there. And if it is, it’s often very inaccurate,” he said.
“I think it’s important that people should have an app like what3words on their phone that can actually provide them with their accurate location and we now have so many emergency services across Canada who will understand that and then be able to get help to exactly where you need it.”
Sheldrick noted the app is currently being used by emergency services in the U.K., Germany and the United States.