Michael Herrera, the 4,000th Spot rescue, and his wife. Photo: Globalstar

[Via Satellite 12-08-2015] Globalstar subsidiary Spot has initiated 4,000 rescues around the world through its Spot family of products since launching in 2007. Spot devices provide location-based messaging and life-saving emergency notification technology to hundreds of thousands of users independent of cellular coverage, and are currently being used by customers to initiate almost two rescues a day.

Michael Herrera, Spot’s 4,000th rescuee and a retired Houston firefighter, was off-roading alone in DeKalb County, Ala. on his dual-sport dirt bike when he took a hard fall. Although initially disoriented, his experience as a first responder told him that his injuries were more serious than he could see. Using the S.O.S. button on a Spot Gen3, Herrera triggered a rescue mission, and within 40 minutes had an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and ambulance onsite. At the hospital, it was determined that he had suffered a broken collarbone, three broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung.

“Until my accident, I’d only used my Spot for tracking so my wife could be aware of my location when riding off-road. It was gratifying to know that my Spot delivered on its promise when I needed [Search and Rescue] SAR services,” says Herrera. He also expressed his gratitude to the SAR teams involved in his rescue, “thank you for your service and your quick response.”

Globalstar’s Spot products work almost everywhere around the world, having most recently expanded to provide Pan-African coverage. The product family is comprised of the Spot Gen3, Spot Trace and the accompanying Spot App.