App 112 BE: 240,000 downloads
A powerful tool for emergency centres
Since its launch in the summer of 2017, the 112 BE app has been downloaded more than 240,000 times. With this app, people can call for help from the fire brigade, ambulance service and/or police in an emergency. Using the app can save significant time as it ensures precise localisation when handling emergency calls.
“We hope that the number of downloads of the application will at least double,” stated Thomas Biebauw, who is responsible for communication at Project 112. “We are conducting press and online campaigns, and also counting on municipalities, emergency services and other organisations in order to help promote the app.” Samuel Stipulante, Head of Operations at Liège 112 control room, confirmed that the new opportunities to locate callers will make a big difference. “A woman recently broke her arm in a nature reserve in the province of Liège. It wasn't life-threatening, but she couldn't move. Thanks to AML, the emergency services found her in less than half an hour. In the past, that would have taken several hours. Another example: a man calls because he is witnessing an emergency situation. The caller provides an address, but the operator quickly sees that the caller is not located there. As he's in a panic, the caller has given his home address - which is five kilometres from his location.”
The app also offers a number of special innovations explained Samuel Stipulante: “If there isn't an optimal GPS connection, for example inside buildings, the app will determine the location using nearby Wi-Fi networks. Also very significant: if a caller loses consciousness we can get the phone to produce a sound, so that the caller can be found more quickly. This is possible even if the sound on the phone is turned off. This can also be useful in cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking.”
