A 111 app

The Herald reports:

The Government hopes a new smartphone app for emergency services will save lives and money.

Communications Minister Amy Adams said 70 per cent of calls to 111 were made from cellphones.

But many callers could not provide accurate location information to ambulances, police or firefighters.

This could cause delays as long as 15 minutes as emergency services tracked down the exact location of a crisis.

On average every minute caused an extra $4000 in fire damage to houses, Ms Adams said.

The minister announced today the Government was making a request for proposals to build the new emergency services app.

Seems a great idea. It can send your GPS location automatically. Also a good app may allow you to indicate the urgency of the assistance needed.