To the Editor:
Thinking about the recent beach rescue on Chappy it reminded me of a simple system I put forth to a couple of emergency response people a year or so ago.
I think it was last year when there was another rescue call off the South Shore in the up-Island area. There was some confusion on the exact location of the call, and several of the emergency response teams did not know which of the several dirt roads would lead to this emergency call.
I had suggested that a simple letter/number sign be posted at several beach locations around the Island, i.e: Long Point L1, L2, L3. Other possibilities, South Beach Edg, ED1, ED2, etc.; Aquinnah A1, A2, split in the road A1A, A1B, and so on around the Vineyard.
A large crossed type lettered sign that could be seen for several hundred feet in all directions at about six to eight feet high would be a simple fix in my estimation. This would give anyone on the beach a location of the incident and a number to forward to 911 . A small numbered sign at the head of each of the dirt roads, along with an Island-wide map of these locations for emergency response teams, would eliminate any confusion when responding to a beach call, or for that matter any emergency call along the same route.
I think if this simple plan was put in place and saved one life, it would be worth the effort.
Don Macdonald
West Tisbury
