A new partnership could help Jessamine County first responders save more lives.
Dispatchers in the county say they're now working with a company called What3words to better find exactly where you are in an emergency.
"If we don't know where you are, we can't get you help," Buchanan said.
A new partnership could help jessamine county first responders save more lives.
Dispatchers in the county say they're now working with a company called "what-three-words" to better find exactly where you are in an emergency..
Abc 36's alex king breaks down just how useful dispatchers think this new tool will be.
Megan buchanan, dispatcher: "if we don't know where you are... we can't get you help."
What3words is an app dispatchers like megan buchanan use when the caller doesn't know the address or is unsure exactly where they are.
Megan: "we have a lot of outdoor activities here in jessamine county that we're very proud of and we've had some incidents where people have gotten lost while canoeing down the river or that have gotten lost while hiking in different areas."
When people call 911... the dispatcher may get a location from their phone that could be between 50-300 meters off... depending on the technology.
Buchanan says this won't replace the way dispatchers normally track you...it'll just help pinpoint a more accurate location.
Megan: "they have mapped off the entire globe.
Everywhere in the world has a 10 foot by ten foot square and each place has three individual words and that gets us within ten feet hopefully of where you're at."
She says it's a very easy program to use and is incredibly helpful.
Buchanan says this partnership could be the difference that helps first responders save more lives.
Alex king, abc 36 news.
So who's paying for the program?
No one.
Jessamine county 9-1-1 says "what- three-words" is free.
A new partnership could help Jessamine County first responders save more lives. Alex King breaks it down.
