Smart Phone – Emergency Call App
As a result of problems experienced by emergency call-takers and emergency services, the Triple Zero Awareness Work Group (TZAWG) has launched a free smartphone app: Emergency+.
TZAWG identified that more than 66% of 000 emergency calls were made from mobile phones; however, mobile callers often do not know exactly where they are, meaning that call-processing times are longer, and call-takers are then unavailable to take the next incoming emergency call.
Determining caller location is the most critical piece of information emergency call-takers need when a call comes in. If callers don’t know where they are, emergency services can’t send help.
Emergency+ uses the existing GPS functionality of smartphones to enable callers to provide emergency call-takers with their location information as determined by their smartphone. When activated, the built in accessibility features of a smartphone will describe aloud what appears onscreen, so a caller can use the app without seeing it.
The Emergency+ app is available for free download in Apple iOS, Android and Windows phone versions, and has already saved lives by ensuring emergency services arrive on-scene as quickly as possible to assist someone in need. One group for which Emergency+ has obvious benefits is bushwalkers, and TZAWG has numerous examples where lost or injured bushwalkers have used the app to pinpoint their location for emergency services.
Emergency+ is available via a free download from the major app portals (search for emergency+). Follow the next few prompts for a quick installation, and don’t forget to enable your phone to forward your location without reference to you.
The App’s logo is a nice bright red, and, as mentioned above, if you ever need to use it to call 000, the App will forward your GPS location to the emergency service operator.