Fond du Lac County Communications & Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office New Tech Delivers “Simplest Way To Talk About Location”

Fond du Lac County has implemented a new way of talking about location, and it’s paying dividends for our First Responders. Our communications center has deployed a new technology, what3words, which makes GPS locations simple to understand for first responders in emergencies.

The technology allows for a rapid delivery of resources when seconds matter most. How does it work?

When someone calls 911, their GPS location displays in a traditional and cumbersome format. Traditional GPS coordinates include either decimal degrees or degree/minutes/seconds, and in either format, precise entry of each digit is required to navigate to that location. Incorrect entry of just one number in that format
can literally plot on the other side of the world, and memorizing the coordinates would be extremely difficult.

what3words automatically takes that cumbersome GPS location data and plots it on a virtual grid. Each square measures 3×3 meters and has a unique 3-word address. The communications call-taker is able to see these words and provide them quickly to first responders via radio or their mobile computers.

First responders can utilize the what3words app on their devices and input the unique address via voice, text, or photo. The app uses the device to act as a handheld compass for first responders.

In non-emergent situations, callers could open the app on their device and provide the call-taker with their unique address if they were in a remote area of the county or at a location that did not have an exact address point to use quickly.

A local example:
Imagine for a moment that the Fond du Lac County Jail and Communications Center entrance was in a remote location with no physical address. Rescuers had to navigate to that point in response to an emergency. The exact same point shares three different “coordinates” that rescuers can choose from to enter into their device and locate the emergency:

Degrees, Minutes, Seconds – Latitude: 43° 46′ 24.2652″N, Longitude: -88° 26′ 58.7508″W
Decimal Degrees – Latitude: 43.773407, Longitude: -88.449653
what3words: flips.book.aside

Who can use it?

While Fond du Lac County is deploying it for emergency response, the app is completely free on both iOS and Android for everyone to utilize by searching for “what3words.” This is also a great tool for families to utilize at large events, weekends hiking remote areas, or other situations where traditional addresses may not be available, or areas that are new for the user.

Sharing early successes!

On August 27th, 2023, Deputies with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a rural address in the northern part of the county for a missing elderly male with cognitive issues. It was discovered that he had walked out of his house and into a nearby cornfield. He was able to be located via an overhead drone. The operator correlated the drone’s location to that of a what3words square and provided the information to other deputies on foot. They were able to utilize this technology to navigate through the field directly where the man was and provide assistance.

On August 28th, 2023, Fond du Lac County Communications and first responders from several agencies were able to successfully utilize what3words to direct EMS, Deputies, and First Responders to an injured paraglider who crashed into a cornfield near Highway 151/CTH K. By utilizing the app and unique address, first responders were able to locate the injured party and employ the help of a nearby resident to cut a direct path to paraglider.

The app has undoubtedly cut down the response time for our first responders and allowed Fond du Lac County to deliver resources rapidly when they are needed the most.

What do our dispatchers think?

“The use of the what3words app has been a game changer in our abilities to get responders to a scene as quickly as possible. When someone is in an emergency situation in the middle of a lake, cornfield or marsh time is of the essence & being able to pinpoint their location to a 3x3m square is invaluable.”