Who You Gonna Call? - HandbagMafia

Emergency Phone Calls.

Have you ever had to make one? Do you know the drill? One of the first things you’ll have to provide is the location of the emergency.

I’m not talking about calling these guys.

Several years ago, I was in Queensland on my honeymoon. Walking back to our hotel on day, I watch a person in a car come flying around a corner. They went up the curb and crashed into a light pole. A split second later, they floored it in reverse and hit another pole before zooming into traffic without even looking.

I don’t know what the hurry was, but it was scary. We thought they’d probably end up killing someone, so I pulled out my phone and immediately dialed Triple Zero. The operator’s first question had me slightly stumped- my location. I had only the vaguest idea and had to waste time finding a street sign.

Another time, we were headed to the local shopping centre near home. It was a hot summer day and I was in an entirely familiar area. We drove down a main road and stopped in traffic. I noticed the median strip (which was full of dry grass) was smoking. As I watched, flames shot up and the rest of the grass started catching. I rang Triple Zero and looked wildly for a street sign. I knew where I was but not the name of the road. We got there in the end but precious minutes were lost figuring it all out.

Mobile Phones.

Last week, my friend Lauren from The Thud made a video about putting your emergency information into your iPhone:

Totally excellent advice! Mobile phones are something almost all of us have. Even kids spent a good chunk of their time glued to their screens.

So, I thought I’d do a little Community Service Announcement, since we all have phones. There’s an app you can download for free that could save your life or the life of another person. It could help emergency services get to where they are needed faster.

Emergency Plus.

It’s called the Emergency Plus app. And it’s already helped people in emergency situations. Just a few weeks ago, it enabled a 12 year old girl to get for help after her grandmother fell 10 metres down into a rock pool at Halls Falls. And that’s just one example.

Screen shot from the app.

Once you download it, you allow it to access your location. From the app, you can actually access the street address of where you are. It also provides you with GPS coordinates- super handy if you’re somewhere rural or maybe lost in the bush. Not only does the app help you determine your location, it contains information on other help lines. From the Police Assistance Line and National Security Hotline to Poisons information- all together in one handy app!