FIRE and rescue services in the North West of England are reminding people of location apps that could help them if they get into trouble.

The app provides an exact location – with every 3m square in the world being identified by a unique trio of words.

Fire officers in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria have been using what3words since 2019 to locate people who need rescuing.

North West Fire Control (NWFC) manages emergency calls and mobilises fire service response on behalf of four of the fire and rescue services in the region - Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria. Its staff members have helped numerous people by asking them for the three words highlighted on their location app to send help straight to them.

On the morning of Thursday, June 30, firefighters from Bury were called to a water related incident where a 41-year-old man had fallen off his bike into water.

GMFRS Crew Manager Andy Dunham, Red Watch Bury Community Fire Station, said: “The man had fallen into a stretch of water in Tottington.

"We believe he had banged his head and was unable to get himself out of the water, which was waist deep. A woman who was passing by called 999, which resulted in mobilisation of fire, police and ambulance to the area.

“We managed to find the man after searching the wider area and then using what3words on our fire engine I shared our exact location (slams.wiping.lodge) with colleagues in NWFC, who were then able to mobilise additional resources – such as the specialist water rescue team from Heywood – to our exact location.

“We would encourage as many people as possible to be made aware of what3words and download the app to their phone if they can.

"In this incident, had the passer-by had what3words on her phone she could have provided a precise location when making the emergency call, which would have allowed us to get to the man who was in difficultly sooner.

NWFC Ops Manager, Ged Basson, said: “We have used what3words a number of times to help send emergency crews to people who are in need of help and are unsure of their exact location.

"This can act as a supporting tool to our existing mobilisation system in place – which allows us to get to people in need of help in a matter of minutes.”