Surf Life Saving WA recently launched its new Emergency Response Points technology and has begun rolling the units out to all 28 WA Surf Life Saving clubs.

ERP's are mobile emergency communication devices that can be placed at unpatrolled, remote or dangerous beaches and activated by the beach going public should emergency situations arise. Simple and effective use of these technologies allows emergency reporting and voice information to be received by local or regional communication centres.  

With financial assistance from the Commonwealth Government’s Clever Networks program SLSWA will deploy coastal emergency response points to respond to the greater demands of coastal activity and visitations to accessible beach locations; extending lifesaving services beyond normal areas of deployment.

The ERP's present a simple approach to identification by the community using a standard red and yellow coloured design. Instructions located on the front audio panel and a large red activation (push to talk button) allows easy identification and use. On activation an alert is sent from the internal radio transceiver, a blue strobe location light begins to flash and a highly audible siren sounds for 5 seconds. The strobe light allows high visibility for responding agencies and the siren provides for attention to be drawn to the immediate area and a deterrent from misuse or malicious activations.

Traditionally drownings do not occur between the red and yellow patrol flags BUT people visiting the beach continue to drown along the Australian coastline at a average of 87 per year; 2.2 people per 100 000 drown on the WA coastline. 

Recent national surf safety reports outlines that approximately 40% of coastal drowning deaths occurred less than 1km from a lifesaving service and on average 30% occurred more than 5km from a lifesaving service.  These new ERP will potentially address this issue and lives will be saved by people using the technology to alert lifesaving services of emergency situations.
 

A new SLSWA ERP - these new units are being distributed to all 28 SLS clubs and will allow reporting of incidents at unpatrolled beaches.

Frequently asked questions:

• What is an Emergency Response Point (ERP)?

ERP’s are mobile emergency communication devices that can be placed at unpatrolled, remote or dangerous beaches and activated by the beach going public should emergency situations arise. Simple and effective use of these technologies allows emergency reporting and voice information to be received by local or regional communication centres. Lifesavers, lifeguards or other emergency service organisations can then be notified to respond.

• Why are ERP needed?

Many incidents occur in remote areas where dangers to the community may not always be obvious and deployment of human resources is not practical and often these dangers are variable in time and location. This presents some difficulties in risk management for services and the Emergency Response Points (ERP) can be simply and effectively re-located into these areas with a number of features over and above traditional fixed location devices. Used in conjunction with nationally recognised signage and other technologies such as remote surf safety cameras, the ERP minimise the risk level to ensure appropriate public health and safety in remote and extended areas.

• Where do coastal drownings occur?

Traditionally drownings do not occur between the red and yellow patrol flags BUT people visiting the coastline continue to drown along the Australian coastline at a average of 87 per year; 2.2 people per 100 000 drown on the WA coastline. Recent national surf safety reports demonstrate that approximately 40% coastal drowning deaths occurred less than 1km from a lifesaving service and on average 30% occurred more than 5km from a lifesaving service.  ERP can not only be used for drowning situations but also utilised should other emergency situations arise such as shark sightings, a lost child etc.

• Where did funding for this project come from?

Financial assistance from the Commonwealth’s Clever Networks program has allowed SLSWA to purchase and deploy coastal emergency response points. This technology will allow SLSWA to respond to the greater demands of coastal activity and visitations to accessible beach locations; extending lifesaving services beyond normal areas of deployment.

• How do ERP work?

The ERP presents a simple approach to identification by the community using a standard red and yellow coloured design. Instructions located on the front audio panel and a large red activation (push to talk button) allows easy identification and use. On activation an alert is sent from the internal radio transceiver, a blue strobe location light begins to flash and a highly audible siren sounds for 5 seconds. The strobe light allows high visibility for responding agencies and the siren provides for attention to be drawn to the immediate area.

• How will the public be deterred from misusing the ERP?

To prevent unauthorised tampering, an anti-tamper device consisting of an internal switch which will automatically trigger an alert signal alarm when the system is tampered with or knocked over. The inbuilt GPS tracking system will also allow tracking of the device should it be stolen or moved by an unauthorised person.

• How does Global Positioning assist ERP?

The effectiveness of the ERP is further enhanced by encoding GPS (Global Positioning System) information sent when the alert button is depressed. When used with mapping and other management programs this allows the ERP to be located quickly and will allow health and emergency services to respond to incident location much faster.