Banff National Park’s dispatch centre continues to see increased calls for emergencies and non-emergencies.
According to the latest statistics available from Parks Canada, the emergency dispatch centre’s call volume increased by 15 per cent in 2014, with more than 60,000 calls. No figures are available for this year yet.
Officials with Parks Canada say the jump in call volume is related to growing visitor numbers, greater use of cellphones by the public and more comprehensive service delivery to the park field units.
“In 2014, 74 per cent of the summer daily call volume exceeded the normal processing capacity of two dispatchers on shift – 225 calls per day,” said Lise Gautron, Banff’s dispatch manager, in a Parks document.
A Parks spokesperson was not made available for an interview. Parks Canada employees are not speaking to the media on any issues, including non-controversial matters, during the current federal election campaign.
The dispatch centre provides 24-hour emergency and non-emergency communication services to Parks Canada, and includes receiving emergency calls, complaints and reports from the public.
It also coordinates response efforts within and between agencies.
Call volumes increased 12 per cent in 2011 and another 12 per cent in 2012, but only a 1.5 per cent jump in 2013, which has been attributed to lower visitor numbers due to the June floods, as well as loss of phone communications.
Among other duties, Banff dispatch takes calls and dispatches emergency services for search and rescue operations, avalanches, park law enforcement, wildlife conflicts, wildfires, toxic spills, as well as motor vehicle accidents and road closures.
