Handling emergencies on the trails
Whether you’re riding or walking our beautiful Caledonia Conservancy trails, emergencies can happen!! The Caledonia Conservancy Equestrian Committee member Michelle Luczak recently reached out to the Caledonia Fire Department on how best to handle emergencies, especially with regard to locating someone throughout our network of trails.
We currently have a grid system with small signs along the trails, such as L4, which would assist emergency personnel to locate someone. However, as many of those signs are missing or in disrepair and new trails have been added, we wondered whether we needed additional signs or if there was a better way using current technology on our cell phones (besides, who wants more signs?).
Michelle reached out to Battalion Chief Leininger of the Caledonia Fire Department to see if they have a way of locating riders/walkers on our trails using cell phone locations. Caledonia did not, but he contacted Racine County Dispatch with our request, and they have now created a way to do so. All Caledonia emergency personnel have now been notified of this solution and will now be able to locate people that might be off the beaten path, provided their cell phone location is on.
So, when you’re out on the trails, make sure you have your cell phone on your person, turned on, and the cell phone location in the ON position (should be in your cell phone settings). If you need assistance in navigating how to do so on your own phone, feel free to contact Michelle at 414-379-5426. Happy trails!!