For most of us, a cell phone is almost always an arm’s reach away. Accessibility to emergency services is greater than ever before, but unfortunately, calling 911 is not always as effective as we think.
“While wireless phones can be an important public safety tool, they also create unique challenges for emergency response personnel and wireless service providers.”
Wireless phones are mobile, and therefore not associated with one fixed location or address. According to the Federal Communications Commission: “While the location of the cell site closest to the 911 caller may provide a general indication of the caller’s location, that information is not always specific enough for rescue personnel to deliver assistance to the caller quickly.”
This shortcoming of cellular devices is often overlooked, but it makes it all the more important to know where you are if you find yourself in an emergency situation. Suisun Marsh is in a unique situation due to relative distance from emergency dispatch centers and the many slough channels and waterways that sometimes make the route or routes for responders to arrive circuitous and confusing. It took more than thirty minutes for fire trucks to arrive at the recent fire on The Marsh Club, and close to an hour for the fire on Gum Tree Farms last year.
For these reasons, SRCD recommends that members keep the Latitude and Longitude of their properties (decimal degrees) and accurate driving directions on hand in order to aid first responders. (See the emergency preparedness list and emergency contact cut-out below)
If you wish to know the GPS coordinates of the main structures ie. Clubhouse on your property in the marsh, call SRCD Water Managers office:
Phelan McKinney—(707) 426-2431 ext. 300
Tim Edmunds—(707) 426-2431 ext. 302
Jeff Taylor—(707) 426-2431 ext. 301
