Yorkshire Ambulance Service is urging the public to make sure their loved ones can be found in an emergency

Yorkshire Ambulance Service is supporting a national campaign to raise awareness of the free what3words app, and how it can be effectively used by 999 callers to identify precise locations in an emergency – saving time, resources and, in some cases, lives.

Summer is a busy period for ambulance responders, and warmer weather can lead to a significant increase in 999 calls.

‘What’s the address of the emergency?’ is one of the first questions asked by call handlers, but individuals who have been enjoying the outdoors can often find themselves in trouble in unaddressed and difficult to describe locations, such as beaches, forests and farmland. Home addresses can also be challenging to locate in an emergency – house numbers can be hard to spot from the road, postcodes cover large areas and for some people, they can even be difficult to memorise – causing delays for first responders in situations when every minute matters.

what3words provides a solution: it’s a simple way to communicate very precise locations. It has divided the world into a grid of 3-metre squares, and assigned each square a unique identifier made of three random words, known as a what3words address. This means every front door, picnic spot, motorway hard shoulder and point along a hiking trail has its own easily communicable address.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service uses the technology to make sure its resources are sent exactly where help is needed, fast.

Halifax Paramedic Sam Barrington featured on BBC Ambulance responding to an incident in a forest and what3words helped him and his colleague to find the patient.

He added: “I’ve seen first-hand how what3words can help emergency services locate people in hard-to-describe places. This summer, whether you’re walking, camping, cycling or exploring somewhere remote or unfamiliar, download the what3words app and know how to use it in case you need to call 999. It could make all the difference.”

As part of this year's #KnowExactlyWhere campaign, Yorkshire Ambulance Service is also recommending that families take a few minutes to talk with their children about what to do in an emergency, when to call 999, and how to use the free what3words app. As a first step, children are encouraged to create a piece of life-saving fridge art featuring their home’s what3words address – a way for them to learn and display a simple and precise address for their home so it's easily accessible.

what3words is available in over 60 languages to date, including Welsh. It’s free to download for iOS and Android, and can also be used via the online map at what3words.com, The app works offline, making it ideal for use in areas with an unreliable data connection.

Chris Sheldrick, Co-founder and CEO of what3words said: “Summer is a great time for new adventures, but unexpected situations can happen anywhere. Taking a few minutes to make sure your family and friends know how to find and share a what3words address can provide extra peace of mind. If they ever need to call for help, emergency services can locate them quickly and accurately.”

A trusted tool in the global emergency toolkit, what3words’ innovative location technology is used by over 85% of the UK’s police, fire and ambulance services. While not intended as a replacement for traditional location and navigation tools, the technology has become a staple to the emergency services, saving dispatchers and responders precious time and resources.