The Microsoft Windows version of the Emergency+ app for smartphones, extending this potentially lifesaving app to virtually all Australian smartphones, was recently launched.
The free Emergency+ app allows a caller to Triple Zero to pinpoint their GPS location, providing certainty to the emergency services.
This project is a great example of the private sector and emergency service agencies working together to improve emergency response.
Sometimes mobile phone users are not aware of their location – even on a city street – making it difficult for emergency call operators to accurately dispatch emergency services.
The release of the Microsoft Windows version means that about 98 per cent of Australian smartphone users can now use Emergency+ to pinpoint their GPS location in emergencies, when every minute counts.
Since launched in December 2013, Emergency+ has been downloaded more than 270,000 times and is already saving lives. It has directed emergency services to car accidents, a quad bike accident in remote Western Australia, and a woman who suffered a snake bite.
The app contains the emergency contact numbers for each state and territory and a short explanation of when to call non-emergency numbers such as the Police Assistance Line (131 444) and the SES national number (132 500). This helps reduce the number of non-urgent calls to Triple Zero (000).
Emergency+ is available free of charge through the Windows, Google Play and Apple App Stores.
The development of the app was funded by the Australian Government through a National Emergency Management Project grant.
For more information visit http://www.triplezero.gov.au/Pages/EmergencySmartphoneApp.aspx