Metro emergency services partners with location app to tackle response times
Using this app response times could be delayed when the person in distress was either without a registered address or unable to provide their location.
The Tshwane metro’s emergency services department has partnered with a location technology app to reduce response times for residents without registered addresses.
Spokesperson Charles Mabaso said the partnership with what3words was aimed at assisting callers to provide their precise location in the event of an emergency.
Using this app response times could be delayed when the person in distress was either without a registered address or unable to provide their location.
“The application what3words provides a solution to the problem of poor addressing.
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“The company has divided the world into a grid of squares of three by three metres, with each one given a unique combination of three words: a what3words address,” he said.
Mabaso said this made it possible for anyone, anywhere to describe their exact location using just three words in any of the four official languages available on the app – English, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans.
“Instead of saying ‘I’m just off the M17, near Molotlegi Road’, callers can now say ‘I am at bring ‘footwork buttercups’ (the words provided by the app) and be located accurately.”
To discover their what3words address, callers could use the free what3words app which was available for download on both the Apple iStore and Google Play.
“By opening the app and discovering the three words for their current locations, callers can read these words over the phone to the 107 emergency number call handler who will be able to search the words on the what3words map to locate the caller precisely,” Mabaso said.
He added the app also worked offline so the location words could be discovered with or without a data or Wi-Fi connection.
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“If the caller does not have the what3words app available, 107 emergency call handlers are able to send an SMS to the caller’s phone with a link to a simple web page displaying three words in the same way as the app.”
The three words displayed from the link would identify the caller’s location.
He said that the caller would then read back the three words to the call handler and their control room would be able to identify exactly where the caller was and dispatch help to their location.
“Emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time, so the Tshwane metro encourages people to be prepared in advance by downloading the free what3words app and ensuring they know the 107 number,” Mabaso said.
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