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Point Perp Accidents 23/24 Feb 2014 26-Feb-2014 At 2:34:07 PM Wollemi

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On 26/02/2014 JohnK wrote:
>Called 000, and obviously got the old "what is the nearest town?" question several times. I was like "I am standing on the second highest peak at Kosci national park!!". The operator finally then simply got my
precise location by tracking my mobile phone, calling the local CFA and confirming that it was just a controlled burn in the Kosci national park.
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The volunteer-based fire fighting agency in NSW has been known as RFS (Rural Fire Service) since 1997. They have never been known as CFA.
The Bush Fire Information Line is 1800 NSW RFS or 1800 679 737. Still ring 000 to report an emergency.

CFA; http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ - Victorian Bushfire Information Line is 1800 240 667. Please ring 000 to report an emergency.

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With your absolute passion for mountains, JohnK, I am surprised that you state Jagungal to be the 2nd highest peak. 2nd is Mt Townsend. Some web pages show Jagungal to be 20th, one states it is our 14th highest peak.

You may have been better to say the 000 operator, 'Mt Jagungal, a prominent mountain West of Lake Eucumbene' or 'Mt Jagungal is many kilometres south-west of Kiandra locality, which is on the Snowy Mountains Highway'. More about clarity than being pedantic.

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I have found when speaking to the naive, to quickly revert to the full name. People I work with don't have a clue when I speak of Kosi or Mt Vic - yet everyone I climb with knows immediately - and work colleagues all brighten up when I say Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Victoria.

Not dissimilarly, I didn't have a clue what locals were talking about when constantly referring to TI and POW - ['tee-eye' and 'Pow!'] although I was in Torres Strait at the time - later to visit Thursday Island and look across to the larger Prince of Wales Island. Relevance to this thread remains - don't be ambiguous or use jargon when wanting, or giving, assistance from/to those of a different background to yourself.

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>I still think that some of the operators are not use to dealing with people from remote locations in the great outdoors. Must be a very minor % of their calls.
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I agree with you, though this report by the NSW Coroner ought to have gone some way to remedy that since 2009 (or late 2006 when this tragedy occurred) . Point 104 by the magistrate ought to have improved things;
http://outdoorcouncil.asn.au/doc/Iredalefindings.pdf
Pertains to the same tragic incident that Wombly refers to above.