Cobb putting Emergency Locator Markers on Silver Comet Trail

Cyclist on the Silver Comet Trail in article about Silver Comet Trail reopenCyclist on the Silver Comet Trail (photo by Larry Felton Johnson)

Cobb County is going to install markers along the Cobb County portion of the Silver Comet Trail to quickly direct emergency responders to incidents along the trail.

“We have signs that are going up on all trails that are approximately a quarter-mile apart… There is an eight-digit number and when you call 911 and give that location, it doesn’t just show up as a place on a trail, it actually shows up like a home address or business address and it puts it on the responder’s map on a computer,” said Cobb County Police Park Ranger Sgt. Dave Ablashi in a county news release. “That enables the first responder not only to know exactly where to go on the road, but they can find it and look up the address and drive right to it.”

The project on the Silver Comet Trail is underway now, and more trails within the county are going to be added to the project this year.

There are more than 150 miles of trail in Cobb County, and when people need help, it is often difficult to describe to 911 operators exactly where on the trail the incident is taking place. This will create a series of reference points to reduce the uncertainty and speed up response times.

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“When you see that marker, even if it’s not you or somebody comes up on you and they’re able to get to that marker, it’s going to save so much time and you’ll have so much confidence in your experience because the police will be there so much faster,” said Cobb Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Cassie Mazloom in the news release. “We’ve had officers and firefighters that have had to walk up to two miles carrying someone on a stretcher and that was a wake-up call for us that this was desperately needed,”

 

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