Devon Air Ambulance encourages everyone to download the what3words app

Devon Air Ambulance is joining emergency services across the country in encouraging the public to download the free what3words location app. 

While many will be braving the outdoors to socialise this winter, the shorter days, combined with harsher weather conditions like rain, ice, sleet and fog increase the chances of people finding themselves in trouble.

To ensure they are prepared to communicate their exact location in the event of a car breakdown or emergency, Devon Air Ambulance is urging members of the public to download the free what3words app.

Emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time – whether that’s along the M5, on a remote walking trail on the coastal path, or even in the middle of Dartmoor. When calling 999, ‘where is the emergency?’ is one of the first questions you are asked, but describing exactly where help is needed can be difficult.

Services often can’t automatically detect a caller’s location, and landmark-based descriptions require local knowledge. At best, this is frustrating, and at worst, it can delay response times in life threatening situations.

Mark Hawley, Operations Manager for Devon Air Ambulance said: "During the winter months when it gets cold, wet and dark early, we know many people in Devon are not confident in driving in these conditions.

"Being prepared can help if there is an emergency or you breakdown and knowing how to let someone know your exact location could be vital in getting the right help to you as soon as possible."

what3words provides a simple solution. The system has divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and given each square a unique combination of three words: a what3words address.

This means that every apartment building entrance, parking space, hard shoulder along the motorway, hidden service station, and spot in a remote field has its own what3words address.

Mark added: "As a Specialist Paramedic working for Devon Air Ambulance, I deliver care to those in need either by air in one of our two helicopters or by road by one of our Critical Care Cars."

Mark explained that before he makes a journey to help you, he always makes sure he carries out some important checks:

• I plan my journey – checking the route and weather.
• My vehicle will already be checked to ensure I have enough fuel, tyre pressures are correct, and lights (including blue lights) are all working.
• Most important is knowing where I am going. Six figure grid references only get me to within 100 meters of most incidents but when time is of the essence, using what3words gets me directly to where I need to be so I can deliver potentially lifesaving treatment.
• Using What3words which can be simply downloaded onto your phone as an App can help us pin point exactly where to find you and from 1000ft in the air it’s not always easy to spot someone in need in the middle of Dartmoor or equally in built up areas where many houses from that height look the same.

The app is free to download on iOS and Android, and can be used via the online map at what3words.com what3words is available in over 60 languages to date, including Welsh, and it works offline – making it ideal for use in areas with unreliable data connections.

The technology is used by over 85% of the UK’s emergency services – police, fire and ambulance – and has become a trusted tool in the UK emergency toolkit. Although not intended as a replacement for traditional ‘must-pack’ safety gear, it has become a well-used partner to emergency teams, saving precious time and resources in critical moments.

Devon Air Ambulance has been utilising what3words for several years, and it has been used to help ensure our crew are sent to exactly where help is needed, fast.

Emergency services call handlers are trained to gather as much location information as possible from callers and have access to a number of different technologies and methods which help them to identify callers' locations – with what3words being one of them.  

If you would like to support the work of Devon Air Ambulance, visit: daat.org