GPS Device Sends Location Data and Alert Message to Emergency Responders
Written by SPOT Inc.
Wednesday, 09 January 2008
SNOWMOBILERS AIDING AVALANCHE VICTIMS USE
SPOT SATELLITE MESSENGER TO SEND 9-1-1 MESSAGE FOR HELP
Milpitas, Calif. (January 7, 2008) – When Natalie Bertsch bought her husband a GPSenabled
SPOT™ Satellite Messenger for Christmas, little did she know that only a week
later he would use SPOT while coming to the aid of four friends swept away in an
avalanche near Laramie, Wyoming. On Jan. 2, 2008, Brian Bertsch contacted an
emergency 9-1-1 call center by pressing a single button on his handheld SPOT.
A group of snowmobilers were riding when they heard an avalanche nearby in the area
where four of their friends were riding in the Snowy Mountain Range. Upon arriving on
the scene, Bertsch sent his GPS location and distress message by pressing a single 9-
1-1 button, and immediately started helping to dig his friends out of the snow. They
were able to free three before rescuers arrived. One man, reportedly in his forties, was
also buried but did not survive the accident.
“I received an OK message from Brian’s SPOT telling me that he was safe. In fact, I was
viewing his location through Google Maps online at findmespot.com when I was called
by the Emergency Response Center used by SPOT. They contacted me instantly and
notified the local area emergency responders within minutes,” said Natalie Bertsch.
“SPOT’s quick response was critical in the rescue communication. I can rest easily
knowing that Brian will have SPOT with him every time he snowmobiles because of the
safety capabilities and peace of mind it gives me.”
The National Association of Search and Rescue estimates that there are over 50,000
search and rescue missions launched each year in the United States. Most of these are
initiated without knowledge of the victims’ location. While the popularity of GPS
navigation systems and the increased coverage of wireless phone networks give some
people a sense of security, anyone who routinely ventures into the wilderness knows
how unreliable phone service can be in remote areas. The SPOT Satellite Messenger
significantly raises the safety factor for the hundreds of millions of people around the
world who take to the outdoors each year.
About SPOT Inc.
SPOT Inc. provides lifesaving communications technology that allows users to
communicate from remote locations around the globe. Our SPOT Satellite Messenger,
the world’s first satellite messenger, uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a
customer’s location and a commercial satellite network to transmit that information to
friends, family or an emergency service center. Thanks to this affordable, cutting-edge
personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing them to
notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency
assistance in time of need almost anywhere in the world, completely independent of
cellular phone or radio coverage. For more information on how SPOT, Inc. is helping
users live to tell about it™ – from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure purposes
– visit www.findmespot.com.
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