what3words helps fire service find teenager in lake
Firefighters and control staff are highlighting the importance of the mobile app what3words after it helped us find a teenager in a lake last night.
Crews were called when a group of teenagers had been playing in and around the lake. One of them had been sitting on a raft and it started to drift to the middle of the lake.
The group didn’t know where they were and were encouraged by our control room to download what3words - a free app that helps accurately describe your location.
gadgets.greet.resting were the three words that led crews to a lake near Lincoln Lane in Great Horkesley.
Specially trained water rescue firefighters entered the water to rescue the teenage boy using a sled by 9pm.
Station Manager Quentin Sage said: “Using what3words greatly helped us to get to the right place at the right time last night. It was starting to get dark and the group were struggling to describe where they were. what3words was able to give an accurate location and we found the group quickly. It’s the third time this week I’ve used it to find incidents and would highly recommend people download the app - especially if you’re headed somewhere new and unfamiliar.
“I’d also like to urge residents to be water aware and be careful in and around water, especially when it’s getting dark. If you do get into difficulty in the water, our top advice would be to remember Float to Live. Float on your back with your arms and legs stretched out and stay calm. Swim to safety if you can but if not, stay calm, float and shout for help.”
what3words
what3words is a free smartphone app that helps you easily and accurately describe your location.
The app developers have broken the world down into trillions of 3m by 3m squares, each with a unique three-word address. These three words can then be used to pinpoint your location more accurately when sending emergency services to you.
If you want to feel safe on your travels knowing that emergency services will be able to find you easily, download the what3words app today at https://w3w.page.link/4ozM
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If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter too.
Find out more about the role and how to apply at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call.
