Crews from Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service are urging members of the public to download the ‘what3words’ location technology that could help to find people faster in an emergency situation.

Following a recent incident in which crews were delayed attending the scene of a serious farm accident, watch manager Jackson Kidd is asking as many people to download the free app to ensure that we send the right resources to the right place without delay.

“We especially want to target the rural and farming communities as they can be in extremely remote places when they may be involved in or come across an incident,” he said.

“The what3words app allows precise directions to be given to the call handler without having to try to explain where you are using landmarks that may not be there.

“We would particularly like the farming community to consider the app and to think about whether they would be able to effectively direct emergency services to their field furthest away from a road or the farm, and to also think about the delay that this could cause to mobilising crews when every second counts.

“In our area in particular, identifying a caller’s exact location is incredibly important, but sometimes there is no easily identifiable landmark, address or postcode to establish exactly where an incident is taking place and this can result in valuable minutes being lost.

“The free what3words app uses GPS technology to allow the caller and the emergency services to quickly pinpoint where they are and where an incident is taking place.

“This means that no matter where they are – in a field, on the roadside, in the countryside, by a river bank or outside one of a multiple entrances to a shopping centre or concert arena – a fire crew can be sent to their precise location to tackle a fire incident, rescue someone from the water or rescue people trapped by a road traffic collision.”

What3words has divided the world into three-metre squares and given each square a unique three-word code which lets anyone give their exact location simply by using these three words.

For example, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service’s headquarters in Penrith gives you the three words ///giants.dates.sponge whereas Lazonby Fire Station gives you the three words ///example.photo.shelving.

What3words is free-to-use and available as a mobile app for both iOS and Android and via the what3wordswebsite.