How Cherokee Co. first responders can find you, even if you don’t know where you are

GAFFNEY, S.C. (WSPA) – For 911 operators, finding someone’s location is easy when they have cell service, and multiple monitors in front of them showing maps, graphs and coordinates.

“Three hours of the day is giving officers directions of where they need to be,” said Holly Thomas, a lieutenant with Cherokee County 911 dispatch.

However, being able to convey that information to first responders is more challenging especially when the information you have is vague because the caller doesn’t know where they are.

“It’s very scary being on the other end and you know someone’s screaming for their child to get help or for them to get help or they’re watching the worst day of their life unfold,” said Thomas.

Developers of what3words divided the entire globe into virtual three-meter-by-three-meter squares and assigned a random three-word code to each square. That what3word address never changes.

For example, the what3words address to the Fedex drop off box in front of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is: rear.spring.bleat . The what3words address three meters southwest of that Fedex drop-off box is: rotate.fears.trash .

“Anywhere in the world you can click on a location within the what3words app and it’ll give you three words,” said Josh Patterson, director of Cherokee County E911 Communications. “We don’t need to spend the extra time in the dispatch center to try and pinpoint someone’s location by asking a cross street or asking, ‘Can you walk down the road and find me some signs,’ so this really helps us.”

Patterson added that, most of the time, there is no need to give a what3words address because most of the time callers are able to give a specific address to their location; however, this isn’t always the case, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

“When you call into 911, most cellphones are utilizing tower location data to give a general location,” said Billy Anthony, a major with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. “With what3words, it’s utilizing the GPS on your phone to give a precise location.”

He said the service is useful even in situations where the caller may not have cell service and needs to walk to find signal. The original location would be saved and could be manually navigated to with a built-in compass available to the devices first-responders use.

“If there was an accident along a roadway where there is no phone service. They might have to walk a distance to make that phone call,” said Anthony.

From a dispatcher’s viewpoint, Thomas emphasized the versatility of the service in other cases where there is a weak signal, but the caller may not be able to identify nearby landmarks.

“If we have a child in a school that can’t tell us where they are, we can easily pinpoint exactly what room they’re in to tell the first responders exactly where they need to go,” said Thomas.

The sheriff’s office said it’s been using the service for about 14 months and so far, have gone on a dozen calls where a what3words address was utilized.

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