Toronto police are encouraging the use of a tracking application called what3words to help in emergencies following an incident 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 help,” said Const. Laura Brabant, Corporate Communications, Toronto Police Service.
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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 took a photo and sent it to their friends, and it indicated that they were close to a body of water and that the information is that they may have gone into the water.” said Brabant.
She noted that the 911 sender suggested the what3words application as a tool to help track the individual.
“They can just send you the link and all you have to do is click on the link and three random words will pop up … and that can limit the location,” she said.
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In this case, there were GPS coordinates linked to the photo received by the caller of the individual in crisis and the Toronto police were able to use that information to get to the scene promptly.
The bottom line, Brabant pointed out, is that an exact location is critical in an emergency.
“We need to know where you are the fastest way possible,” she added.
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The purpose of the what3words application is to easily find, store and share exact locations. It divides the world into 10-foot squares, each giving a unique three-word address. For emergency services it can be a game changer.
“Ideal for urban areas, but also great if you’re in the woods or in northern Ontario or somewhere you are not familiar, it can really help any emergency services, firefighters and paramedics and police to limit your location so we can we get our services faster to assist you, ”said Brabant.
Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words application, said “there’s a bit of a myth that when you call the emergency services, your location is automatically sent to them.”
“It is actually very rare that that kind of technology is there. And if it is, it is often very inaccurate, ”he said.
“I think it’s important that people have an application like what3words on their phone that can actually provide them with their exact location and we now have so many emergency services across Canada that will understand this and then be able to get help to exactly where you are. need it. “
Sheldrick noted that the application is currently used by emergency services in the UK, Germany and the United States.
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