FIREFIGHTERS have launched a potentially lifesaving new app that could help them more quickly locate people in need of their help.

The county’s fire and rescue service yesterday launched the ‘what3words’ app, which will help people who have called in need of rescue or help be found faster.

In an emergency, identifying a caller’s exact location is vital for a fast response.

Sometimes, there is no easily identifiable landmark, address or postcode to establish exactly where an incident is taking place and this can result in valuable minutes being lost.

By dividing the world into the three metre square grids using GPS technology, the free app then assigns a unique three word code to each grid.

Once announced to the emergency call handler, the fire service will then be immediately directed to the caller’s location by using the reference code.

Janet Willis, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for fire and rescue, said: “What3words is already being used by over 70 police forces and emergency services across the UK.

“North west fire control, who answer emergency fire calls for Cumbria fire and rescue service, now have the technology to convert what3words into the nearest street address location so that they are able to send the closest resources to emergencies.

“This system will really complement the range of other technology available to the control room so that crews can get to incidents more quickly.

“This is particularly beneficial in a large rural area like Cumbria that has a high number of visitors that are not familiar with the local area, and are often unable to give an accurate address to emergency call handlers.

“The app has already been credited with saving lives by reducing the time to identify the exact location of an emergency situation.

“I’d encourage everyone to download the app today and tell their friends and family to do the same as you never know when you might need to use it.”

what3words is free-to-use and available as a mobile app for both iOS and Android and via the what3wordswebsite.