Haldimand County Emergency Services joins national week of action to help 9-1-1 callers #KnowExactlyWhere in an emergency with what3words app

From October 3 to 9, Haldimand County will be taking part in the #KnowExactlyWhere safety campaign to raise awareness of the free what3words app and how it can be effectively utilized in an emergency when calling 9-1-1 from an unknown location.

In an emergency, identifying precisely where help is needed is critical to getting resources to the scene quickly, however, this can be challenging when callers are in remote or unfamiliar areas, without street addresses or on unnamed trails. In these moments, emergency services can waste precious time and resources just trying to locate the person in need of help.

What3words provides a simple way to communicate a very precise location and across Canada the technology has been successfully used for everything from reporting fires and rescuing pets, to locating critically injured snowmobilers and hikers with pinpoint accuracy.

what3words has divided the world into a grid of 10ft squares and given each square a unique combination of 3 random words: a what3words address. For example, ///hampers/thesaurus/excited will take you to the main Haldimand County Administration Building at 53 Thorburn St S., Cayuga. These three words can be provided to an emergency dispatcher when calling 911.

The app is free to download for both iOS and Android devices, and works offline, making it ideal for use in areas with an unreliable data connection, such as hiking trails and campsites. what3words can also be used via the online map at what3words.com.

Teams across Canada have praised what3words innovative location technology for cutting response times when it matters most. Downloading the what3words app one of the simplest actions the public can take to support busy emergency response teams, and Haldimand County Emergency Services encourages residents to familiarize themselves with the free tool.

To date, what3words is available to over 50 emergency communication centres across Canada, with a presence in eight provinces and two territories.