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Mass. fire department credits phone app for saving lost hikers
"Using just three simple words, they were able to give our teams their precise location, leading to a much faster rescue," the fire department noted.
Authorities rescued a pair of hikers in Western Massachusetts on Saturday night with the help of a smartphone app, which provided the search team with the pair’s precise location.
The Westfield Regional Public Safety first received a report at 7:20 p.m. of two hikers needing assistance between Reservoir Road in Westfield and Pitcher Street in Montgomery, according to a press release from the Westfield Fire Department.
“While they did the right thing by calling for help, standard GPS coordinates struggled to pinpoint their exact location due to the dense canopy and signal interference,” the fire department noted. “Fortunately, the hikers had the what3words app installed. Using just three simple words, they were able to give our teams their precise location, leading to a much faster rescue.”
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State Police had first made contact the hikers by cell phone, but could not determine their exact location. Using the app, the hikers were able to share their coordinates.
The app works by assigning a unique three-word combination to every 3-meter-square space in the world, and keeping track of which of those spaces you’re in at any given moment.
Despite the cold and rain, as well as darkness, officials coordinated search efforts throughout the area, soon making contact with the hikers at 8:51 p.m. and extricating them from woods by 9:15 p.m.
The fire department shared this information as a reminder for hikers to always have a backup form of navigation, especially in the event of limited cell reception. The what3words app works offline in conjunction with GPS, so long as the person already has the app downloaded on their phone.
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The fire department also said to notify another person of any hiking plans, including location and estimated return time. In case of emergency, try to stay calm and dial 911 for assistance, authorities said.
The Westfield Fire Department received assistance in this rescue from the Montgomery Fire Department, the Western Massachusetts Technical Rescue Team, the state’s Department of Fire Services, State Police, the Southwick Fire Department, and the Westfield Public Safety Communications Center.
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