When it comes to search and rescue operations, three simple words literally helped to save the lives of two people yesterday in quinte west.
At 3.45 pm, Quinte West Firefighters were dispatched to a couple who were lost on the trail from Frankford to Batawa.
Firefighters were dispatched with ATVs to search for the missing people.
Fortunately, the lost couple used the WHAT THREE WORDS app and Firefighters were able to locate them within minutes.
For those of us who aren’t that tech savvy, I looked it up. What3words (website what3words.com) is a proprietary geocode system designed to identify any location on the surface of Earth with a resolution/accuracy of approximately 3 metres.
The system encodes geographic location into three permanently fixed dictionary words, instead of a string of numbers or letters.
Now, it should be noted that there are several precautions you should take if you go out hiking.
Always be sure where you are, go with a buddy, take water and provisions and a way to call for help, but now we have a new way to help people find you in case you get lost.
So remember what3words and also THESE three words – Thank you Firefighters!
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
