Emergencies can happen at the Lake too...

We'll take advantage of this forum to give thanks and recognition of the work of the staff at Emergency Services in North Kawartha.

Anstruther Lake has approximately 250 cottages, of which, approximately 150 are only accessible by water.  While this feature may be appealing for privacy, it can be unsettling if there is ever a need for emergency services such as ambulance or fire.

Over the years, we have seen emergency services come to the lake many times for not only calls from cottages but also visitors in the Park (campers & paddlers).  

It is only June and there have already been a couple of instances where emergency services have been called.  One call involved an injury in which the individual required care and transport across the lake and had called the Marina to reach out for help. The individual was a visitor to the lake, so was not familiar with what address to report, which is why the initial call was to the Marina and not 911.  If there is an emergency at your cottage, dial 911 directly for assistance to speed up their arrival.  

When we placed the call to 911 on behalf of the lake visitor, we also advised the dispatch that the injury was at a water access property and that a boat needed to also be dispatched.  

While we would have willingly offered a ride, we know that police will travel in a private boat but paramedics can only travel across the lake in a boat from the fire department.  From the moment that call was placed, paramedics were parking at the boat ramp in less than 15 minutes and the fire department boat was less than 5 minutes behind.

While we all hope that cottage time will be safe, if ever there is a need for emergency services here, we are in great hands with the staff of the fire department, OPP and paramedics in North Kawartha.