App helping in emergencies, Ingham County officials say
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Three short words could save a life or rescue a person.
An app called What3Words is being used by law enforcement and emergency first responders to quickly and precisely locate people in need.
Last week, Ingham County Sheriff officials and Dansville Fire Department working with Ingham County Central Dispatch used the app to rescue three young adults from a state game area in the Dansville area.
Their location? “Hillsdale.Motive.Sideways.”
With those words, dispatchers and fire officials were able to narrow their location to one 10-foot by 10-foot square area of the Earth.
“It’s going to be near Ewers and Williamston,” a dispatcher can be heard telling responders on a 911 recording obtained by 6 News. “I’ll get you the exact location. Three patients have been out for several hours. They are wet, can’t feel their feet.”
Within minutes Dansville fire officials were in the area, but due to the terrain, the sheriff’s drone team had to assist in guiding the young adults to first responders.
Barb Davidson, Ingham County 911 director, says the app’s exacting geolocation is easier to use and more accurate.
“Typically, we are seeing uncertainty of someone’s location is about 8 meters. So, about 24 feet,” she said. “But if you and I can have a conversation and you can take and open What3Words and pinpoint that for me, even better. It’s great.”
6 News put the app to the test. A team member hid an item in Lansing and sent the three words for where it was located. Using the app, the location and the item were quickly identified and recovered.
The item was a green football placed in Lansing’s Riverside Park.
Davidson and Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wrigglesworth say while the app gives precise information, it’s the collaboration between first responders, the app and other technology that brings operations together.
“That coordinated effort by Central Disparthc and 911 and EMS and the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office and our drone program brought this case to a successful conclusion and who knows how this might have played out without this app,” Wrigglesworth tells 6 News.
Ingham County is not alone in touting the app. Clinton County 911 Dispatch posted on social media last week encouraging residents to download the app ahead of their spring break adventures.
What3Words’ Marketing Director Gile Rhys Jones says the app is growing in use as emergency responders adopt it. And families are using it too. He said it’s also being used to connect for social events between friends where it’s a large area and many people, or someplace remote.
He stresses the app is secure from being tracked.
“It’s not a tracking device,” he tells 6 News. “You have to literally tell someone What Three Words address that you want to meet them at, or what, where you are. So you are in total control.”
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