News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County 911 has started utilizing new technology to help locate people in emergencies.
What3words is an app that divides the world into a series of 57 trillion, ten by ten squares. Instead of using GPS coordinates for locations, each square has a series of three words unique to that location.
Putnam 911 PIO Josh Womack said that this kind of technology provides emergency personnel with quicker response times and a more specific location.
“Instead of us trying to figure out where you’re at and ask you questions, ‘What do you see around you,'” Womack said. “If it gives us your what3words location, or you’re able to give us your what3words location, we can get help to you faster.”
Womack said that with 40,000 usable words in the English dictionary, it gives about 64 trillion three-word combinations.
Womack said that tech helps in all kinds of situations. He said situations can range from injured motorists on the highways, to lost hikers and hunters, to even boaters who are stuck on the water.
“This is a great product for us at the 911 center. In the event of an emergency location is the most important piece of information you can get. So this just adds another layer of safety and security to the caller that they know that we’re going to be able to find them if they don’t know where they are. ”
Womack said that what3words is a service free for anyone to use. He said that the department has been using it for about two months and has seen success.
