Waikato Police say a device originally introduced to ensure the safety of their own staff is providing additional benefits to the public assisting in the timely evacuation of a seriously injured motorist.
Western Waikato Area Commander, Inspector Paul Carpenter, said Cambridge emergency services were called to the scene of a serious injury crash near Mt Maungatautari about 8am on Monday.
"A seriously injured woman was found trapped in her vehicle and had to be cut out by attending fire-fighters who arrived at the scene on Maungatautari Rd.
"The injured driver required urgent medical assistance and the Westpac Waikato Rescue Helicopter was requested. An attending Police officer contacted the Northern Communications Centre and activated his Officer Safety Alarm which gave the exact latitude & longitude grid reference of the crash scene to the air crew enabling a quick recovery of the patient."
Mr Carpenter said Officer Safety Alarms are newly introduced devices that, when held down for a second, send a signal to communications centres showing the dispatcher the officer’s location.
"These new alarms, which we started distributing across the Waikato last week, have built-in GPS technology that can pinpoint officers’ exact locations so help can be sent more quickly.
"In this case the device enabled an injured member of the public to be provided the most timely response possible in terms of treatment for her serious injuries. So the introduction of these alarms is a positive for not only Police but the general public as well."
Mr Carpenter said Waikato staff are being told of the part the device played in Monday's rescue to highlight their value for not only when officers are in danger but also for indicating safe landing spots at crash scenes, pin-pointing locations of interest, search and rescue and other operations.
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