Safety code will help ambulances find non-postal locations
The NAS has today announced that it is using a Public Safety Location Code (Loc8) created by a Cork-based company that can identify and dispatch emergency crews to non-postal locations on a map.
Unlike an Eircode, an eight-digit Loc8 code can identify any location on a map, regardless of whether it is at a postal address.
Health and safety officers are adding location codes to safety signage on a range of public and private spaces, life buoys, and assembly points in the hope that callers will use the code to help direct emergency services to the scene in a more efficient manner.
“The simplicity and accuracy allows the emergency services to quickly and efficiently effect a successful rescue,” said Lt Cdr John FM Leech, the Irish Water Safety chief executive.
NAS staff at the National Emergency Operations Centre in Tallaght, Dublin, and Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, are now trained to dispatch emergency ambulances using the Public Safety Location Code technology.
“We welcome any technology which assists us with patient care and helps us get to the patient quicker,” said Pat McCreanor, NAS chief ambulance officer. “The Public Safety Location Code will assist in getting to non-Eircode, non-postal address locations where people attend, pass by, work or recreate.”
Members of the public can generate the Public Safety Location Code by using the Point8 app, which will create a code for their precise location, regardless of whether they are at a postal address or not. The app is available from both the Google Play and Apple App Stores.
Garmin Satnavs released from 2010 onwards also support Loc8 Code as an in-built feature.
Loc8 Code is an Enterprise Ireland-supported Cork-based company formed in 2009 by GPS, navigation, and mapping specialists.
