With the aim of improving emergency response times and safety on its beaches, Warrnambool City Council has installed a series of signs indentifying specific beach areas and entrances along its extensive coastal stretch. Located on the southwest coast of Victoria, Warrnambool has a population of over 30,000 people, and a magnificent coastline with beaches that attract large numbers of tourists to the region.
While the coastline is a tourism drawcard, it also presents several risks – mostly water related, including near drowning experiences. Typically, these risks, combined with the large coastline area have made it difficult for emergency call takers to find exact geographic landmarks.
Council’s Environment Coordinator Kate McInnes said a tragic swimming incident in 2005 prompted a thorough audit of the inherent risks along the coastline.
“The project required collaboration with emergency services, the community and various agencies, and as a result, Life Saving Victoria developed recommendations for decreasing risks in the area,” she said. “One of these recommendations was the installation of emergency markers that save time and lives by enabling emergency call takers to pinpoint exact locations.”
The markers were installed last April and Council has been working with emergency services to increase awareness of them and their purpose.It is now working to develop the public’s understanding through a series of advertising campaigns and promotions.
Kate McInnes said that Council is proud to be the first non metropolitan council to install the markers and to be in a position to offer advice and support to others considering the system.
“The project was, at times, extremely tedious and time consuming due to the large number of beach accesses between the eastern and western coastal boundaries of Warrnambool,” she said.”Precise location identification to decrease dispatch time for emergency services is undoubtedly a positive outcome for the whole community.”
For further information contact Kate McInnes on (03) 5559 4800.
