NEWS: Three words to save your life

Toronto Police Operations @TPSOperations Feb 2/2022
MEDICAL COMPLAINT:
Glen Rouge Campground
* 8 pm *
- River appears to be frozen
- A woman has fallen through the ice
- Officers located her using What 3 Words
- An officer jumped into the river
- She has been pulled to safety
- Both being treated for exposure
#GO220539
^dh

So what is What 3 Words mentioned above in the Twitter police report?

What3words essentially points to a very specific location.
Its developers divided the world into 57 trillion squares, each measuring 3 m by 3 m (10 ft by 10 ft) and each having a unique, randomly assigned three-word address.

For example, the southern terminus of the Bruce Trail is located at the stone cairn in Queenston Heights Park. Near the famous Niagara Falls, the park is perched in the west side of a deep gorge carved over the centuries by the Niagara River. The three word address for this location is: hauled.unleashes.giggle. If you were lost or wanted to meet someone at this location you could send those three words to a friend or emergency services and they would then know where you are in that three meter square.

It turns out that 40,000 words make enough combinations of three words to cover every location in the world.

As hikers, there is always a chance to get lost in the woods or have an injury preventing you from walking out. That's when having this app on your phone could save your life. Most Canadian emergency services have confirmed they are using and accepting what3words addresses.

The service will use the what3words address to see exactly where you are and send help. The what3words app works offline – ideal for areas with unreliable data connection.

How to share a what3words address with emergency services

Using the free what3words app

Open the app and tap the Locate Me icon. The what3words address for your current location will be displayed at the top of the screen.

Read out the three words to your emergency call taker. For example if you’re at ///index.home.raft simply say: ‘My what3words address is index home raft’

The emergency service will use the what3words address to see exactly where you are and send help.

To check this out for yurself, enter the three words for the Southern Bruce Trail Cairn and see the result.