Australian bushfires – recommended phone app – helps when lost
Emergency+ app
Several days ago, a spokesperson from the New South Wales RFS headquarters said their 000-emergency phone service normally handles 50 emergencies per day; now the number is more than 5,000.
Although they have increased their capacity to handle this number; they have noted a large number of people are calling in for help when they do not know where they are, which is understandable, if they been driving in heavy smoke conditions or maybe elsewhere when they suddenly need help.
The operators are spending an enormous amount of time trying to work out where the caller is located; which is especially hard for those who are tourists in unfamiliar territory.
The RFS strongly recommends the Emergency+ app, a free app developed by Australia's emergency services and their Government and industry partners which can be installed on your phone. The app uses GPS functionality built into smart phones to help a Triple Zero (000) caller to provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency services.
The moment you turn ‘tap on the app’; your latitude and longitudinal is shown so you and the operator can see where you are.
Those of you who have an aeromedical or SAR background will appreciate the advantage you are given when you can get specific geographical coordinates for your GPS systems.
And the price is right!
Rob