Echo 112
As Outdoor Enthusiasts (Snowsport, cycling, canoeing, hillwalking etc) venture more and more away from inhabited and patrolled areas to get into the wilds and backcountry it is more important that individuals are prepared and have some vital checks in place.
As well as having the appropriate outdoor activity training, equipment, insurance and activity checks in place, apps can assist your experience for things such as route planning and in the case of an emergency. Being able to contact the appropriate services and allowing them to pin point your exact location can be vital to a successful rescue.
Echo 112 was brought to my attention by a UIAGM Mountain Guide before the group I was with went exploring on the Grands Montets, Argentiere, France
The app can be downloaded onto your smartphone, and works anywhere that you can get a GPS signal, it displays local emergency services' numbers for users to call and shows and transmits nearby addresses and coordinates so that the emergency operator can get the user’s exact location via the echo112.com website.
Jocelyn Corniche, a hospital ER anaesthetist based in Lausanne, Switzerland, developed the Echo112 app after getting frustrated when working in the air ambulance service, by just how hard it was to find people, this app now cuts down the time delay in the services getting to the user.
Echo112 is free to download, on installation you need just to run through some details so that you authorise the app to use your location and you need to enter your mobile number of that device so that the services can locate you. Don’t forget to go through this process after download.
It allows you to take a test drive on the app and run through the emergency procedure so that you are familiar with the process in a comforatable environment.
Should you need to use the app in a real life emergency situation you simply open the app, initiate the call, the app then sends your location to echo112.com and the app calls the emergency services. You can then just tell the services to find you on echo112.com.
They can find your exact location and get to you in the quickest time possible.
So why not download the Echo112 app now so you have it just in case.
