Oshawa Fire to use location tech
Oshawa Fire Services are the first in Canada to use What3words, which is a location app that can help firefighters find those in need. (Oshawa Firefighters photo)
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
With the download of a single app, it’s now easier for Oshawa Fire Services to locate someone in an emergency.
What3words is a location technology that allows firefighters to locate people in distress quickly. Oshawa Fire Chief Derrick Clark tells The Oshawa Express he is very excited.
“This is a very exciting initiative for our department. We’re the first fire service in Canada to be utilizing this technology in this format,” says Clark.
The app is free, according to Clark, and what it does is assign three words to a 3×3 metre square grid anywhere in North America, and elsewhere in the world.
“I open the app right now and it gives me three words. It says, ‘Workshop, mobile, and vegans.’ Those three words identify exactly where I’m sitting on a 3×3 metre square grid,” explains Clark.
He adds if he were to move outside of the grid, he would be assigned three new words.
What that does is allow firefighters to have “pinpoint accuracy” to find someone in need of help.
“Whether it’s on the 401, whether it’s in the conservation area, on a country road, someone new to the city that doesn’t know where they are… or someone that sees a fire… we can use this in so many avenues,” he explains.
When using the app, a link is sent to the user’s phone, and they only need to recite the three words seen on the link, and firefighters will know where they are.
Clark says there are a couple examples of how the app can help residents.
“We’ve had rescues where people have fallen in winter in the conservation area, Harmony Valley dog park, and it’s quite a significant sized park,” says Clark.
He continues by noting the callers aren’t able to precisely say where they are in the park, as there are no markers to indicate their location.
“Just that they went down the trail from the parking lot, and they think they walked about a mile,” says Clark.
With the app, Clark says they can pinpoint exactly where the person in need of help is.
“We know exactly where they are, which trail to go down. Boom. Get them,” says Clark.
He notes the fire department has had cases where they’ve had to spread out and walk down multiple trails for 20 or 30 minutes before finding the person in distress.
“Someone could be lying on the cold ice with a broken leg for a while before we can actually find where they are,” he says.
The other example he uses is drivers on Highway 401 who don’t always know exactly where they are when they get into, or see an accident.
“Often people will say, ‘I’m just south of Harmony.’ Well, they’re not south of Harmony, they’re actually south of Ritson, or Simcoe, or Stevenson. So, if we go the wrong way on the 401, we’ve got to go to the next exit, turn around and come back. It takes a long time,” says Oshawa’s fire chief.
Clark ultimately believes the app is a win for Oshawa Fire Services, and is very proud to be able to use it.
“We’re proud to be the first fire service in Canada to use the app, and I know the city’s proud as well,” says Clark.
For more information regarding what3words, visit what3words.com.