Here’s a scenario one could imagine quite easily here in this little corner of the world …

The owner of a small boat invites friends for a day out on the water, fishing, eating and laughing. At some point during the day, the captain slumps over in some sort of distress, possibly a heart attack.

The passengers immediately call 911 from a cell phone, but they are unfamiliar with the boat, with its radio equipment, or with tracking longitude and latitude. The 911 operator says help is on the way and asks, “What is your location …?”

“We’re in a boat.”

“Where?”

“Narragansett Bay … I think.”

Emergency service personnel always say that minutes, even seconds, can save lives. In this imaginary scenario, locating the boat would obviously delay their response.

Rhode Island’s 911 system has several safeguards to help pinpoint the location of emergency dialers. A call from a landline is automatically traced to a precise location. The same is true for many cell phone calls. As long as there are several cell phone towers close to the emergency dialer, Rhode Island E-911 can triangulate a fairly precise location for that caller.

Things get more challenging when the 911 caller is in a remote location, perhaps more rural, far from cell towers — or on the water. In those cases, responders may have to rely on word of mouth, which is not always reliable in an emergency situation.

A new tool from the Rhode Island emergency 911 system can close the technology gaps in locating those in distress. The agency is now using and highlighting a phone app that can track every 10 square feet of planet Earth using a three-word code. It is called “what3words,” and it is a free app for both emergency responders and the public.

“We know that emergencies can happen anywhere, and sometimes the person calling us cannot tell us exactly where they are,” said Arthur Martins, director of E-911. “What3words gives us a precise location that saves time and gives first responders the data to make the most informed decisions.”

Martins said that instead of relying on cell tower signals, what3words uses satellite technology to track location. So it works as long as the cell phone has a GPS signal.

What3words has mapped the entire world with three-word codes that are available in 50 different languages. It was developed by a company in the United Kingdom and has been used extensively by shipping and delivery companies in Europe and Asia.

Martins said that even if emergency callers do not have the app installed ahead of time, Rhode Island E-911 can send a download link to their phone. “As long as they can click on that link and open it up, we can ask them to read those three words to us and we can find their location,” he said.

Martins described another scenario, land-based, where the app might be helpful. “Imagine someone is calling us from Roger Williams Park,” he said, talking about the 427-acre park at the south end of Providence along the border with Cranston. “Telling us they’re in the park helps narrow it down, but where in Roger Williams Park are they?”

The same could happen along unpopulated roadways, in rural areas of the state, or along hiking trails. “There really are a multitude of uses,” Martins said.

The app is free to both private citizens and to public safety agencies, so there is no cost to taxpayers or the state to use it. The Rhode Island E-911 system receives nearly half a million 911 calls annually.

More information can be found at: www.what3words.com