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Posted by Ballpark Frank (66.58.236.31) on 10:10:51 11/27/12
In Reply to: Look Inside the Park's Comm Center posted by SY
SY,
I had the pleasure/privilege of collaborating with Kaelyn during my tenure with both Park County, and later, Gallatin County. She has an extensive background in 911 applications/technology, but also, many other aspects of public safety and law enforcement. In my experience, she is/was by far, the most knowledgeable 911 Director in the region. We started a series of periodic meetings of the 911 Managers/Directors from the surrounding communities/counties, and invited Kaelyn. She was a very engaged participant, volunteering to provide training that would otherwise not be accessible. (Kaelyn has access to some federal resources that none of us had any knowledge of.)
FYI, my understanding is that one of the root causes of the slow adoption of E/911 technology is the screwy addressing system in Yellowstone. Instead of being a typical address grid, like you see in most communities (SLC or Seattle being two classics that I can think of), Yellowstone's addressing in developed areas is based on building numbers. They are sequential, and start with Building 001. As the sequence progresses, you can jump from one area, like Mammoth, to another, like Old Faithful, then on to Lake, and back to one of the others. It is far from being "intuitive". This makes the mapping process much more labor-intensive, and retards the progress toward Enhanced 911.
One Yellowstone negative that was left out of the article is the burgeoning workload on Dispatch as a consequence of the proliferation of SPOT and other geolocation type emergency notification technologies. Kaelyn's operation is plagued by false alarms and people crying "wolf". Most of you have undoubtedly read/heard of how some folks misuse these new devices "just to let a family member or friend know they are OK" or to summon help, because they are "tired". We joke about using one to order a pizza, but in Kaelyn's world, when someone "pulls the trigger" on one of those devices needlessly, it mobilizes emergency response efforts, which siphon resource away from other REAL emergencies. In a resource-constrained place like Yellowstone, having some rangers and/or a helicopter tied up on a bogus emergency call could mean life and death to a cardiac or stroke patient somewhere else in Yellowstone.
What can you do to assist Kaelyn and the thousands of other 911 Center Managers/Directors in the country? Don't give SPOT or related technology to IDIOTS as a well-intentioned birthday present or Christmas gift. If you must provide it, please educate the recipient about using it wisely.
Kaelyn and her staff is an example of the unsung heroes that the public never sees. Those of you who have scanners have listened to her dispatchers on the air. In fact, since Kaelyn sometimes works at a console, there is a fair chance you have heard her voice. I like the fact that the YPF gave her operation some visibility, and I hope it generates some additional fund-raising. It is funding that benefits everyone that visits Yellowstone and the surrounding areas.
Ballpark
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