ARES Letter for January 17, 2007
The ARES E-Letter January 17, 2007 ================= Rick Palm, K1CE, Editor <http://www.qrz.com/database?callsign=K1CE>, =================================== ARES reports, other related contributions, editorial questions or comments: <k1ce@arrl.net>;;; =================================== + THE VIEW FROM FLAGLER COUNTY Christmas day saw twisters tearing down homes in Daytona Beach, right across the street from the hospital where I work - too close for comfort. It was mainly a SKYWARN and Red Cross assessment effort, according to East Central DEC Jay Musikar, AF2C. Flagler ARES met last night (I missed the meeting as I was working the night shift), and the group planned to cooperate with neighboring Volusia County ARES in providing security communications for the famous tailgating arena at the Orlando Hamcation next month. (We will also participate in a section-wide ARES meeting there, conducted by SM Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP). Our repeater-based ARES net is tonight, so at least I'll make that. The holiday season is a time for giving, so on behalf of the ARES E-Letter editorial and production staff, I donated a Motorola rack mount cabinet to the Flagler Emergency Communications Association (FECA) and Flagler ARES for use in housing repeater hardware. It felt good. ================= IN THIS ISSUE: + THE VIEW FROM FLAGLER COUNTY + ARES REPORTS: WESTERN WASHINGTON, COLORADO BLIZZARDS + DHS REPORTS ON COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY STATUS + 2007 GLOBAL AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE SET FOR HUNTSVILLE + NEW WEB FORUM FOR EMCOMM + COMMUNICATIONS ACADEMY 2007 IN PLANNING STAGE; LOOKING FOR KATRINA/RITA DISPATCHERS + NIMS IMPLEMENTATION FOR NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS APPLIES TO ARES + LETTERS: ON STRESS REACTIONS + LETTERS: RED CROSS BACKGROUND CHECKS + ARRL CERTIFICATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION + AMATEUR RADIO HURRICANE CONFERENCE SEEKS NEW WEEKEND + K1CE FOR A FINAL ======================= + ARES REPORTS: WESTERN WASHINGTON, COLORADO BLIZZARDS December 14-15 Storm -- ARRL Western Washington SM Ed Bruette, N7NVP, said eight people died, and 1.5 million homes and businesses lost electrical power after winds and rainfall, although communications infrastructure stayed intact. "The need for ARES/RACES was established at the local EOCs in case of major communication outages, with a secondary mission to support Red Cross shelters." "I'm certain every local ARES/RACES team in Western Washington was activated," Bruette said. Fifteen Red Cross shelters opened across the region, and the state activated its EOC at Fort Murray. Winds of 70 MPH and downed trees closed several major highways, while others flooded. Blocked roads affected public safety agencies' ability to respond, Bruette said. Bill Bowden, KI7AO, EC for Kittitas County reported that most of his county lost power. The Cle Elum Fire Department contacted an AEC requesting the ARES station at the fire station be activated. The Cle Elum EOC was on the air at 2 AM. The ARES Red Cross liaison contacted the EC to report that they were establishing a shelter in the Centennial (Senior) Center in Cle Elum and also at Ellensburg. The EC contacted all county ARES/RACES officers and activated an ARES net countywide. Communications were opened on the Grass Mountain system linking to the Washington state EOC. Kittitas County declared a state of emergency, and ARES ops were reporting that phone service had failed in parts of the upper county. The County Search and Rescue (SAR) communications van operators checked in with ARES as SAR volunteers were en route to the Cle Elum-Roslyn area to check on those needing assistance, with darkness approaching and the snowstorm a blizzard. ARES members were deployed to provide communications with the shelters that had been activated in Cle Elum and Ellensburg. In all, 23 ARES members were active throughout the long weekend, many operating in the cold and dark. December 20 - Colorado EC Ben Baker, KB0UBZ, reports ARES ops activated after a blizzard struck, paralyzing a large part of the state and stranding thousands of travelers. Snowfall totals averaged 20 to 30 inches around the Front Range of Denver and 40 inches or more in the foothills west of Denver, Baker said. "ARES districts all along the Front Range were active, reporting snow totals as well as responding to served agency requests," Baker said. "Amateur Radio operators supporting the Red Cross and The Salvation Army staffed shelters, while other ARES members used their four-wheel drive vehicles to transport essential and emergency personnel to their assignments." Colorado Gov Bill Owens declared a state of emergency and activated the Colorado National Guard to assist in rescuing stranded motorists. The Colorado EOC as well as county and local EOCs were opened. A second major snowstorm hit Colorado just after Christmas and ARES activated again along the Front Range. Baker said that all Colorado ARES teams had stood down as of Monday, January 1. The last to terminate operations were the volunteers at the Colorado EOC, who held down the fort until 3 PM on New Year's Day. Several ARES districts deployed to report snowfall totals and remained available to support communication for shelters, although that turned out to be unnecessary. Bill James, KC0FGJ, the ARES EC for Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers counties, coordinated communications between the State EOC and ARES teams in southeastern Colorado counties. James reported that travel was impossible due to snowfall of up to three feet and drifts of more than 10 feet in some spots. Erik Dyce, W0ERX, the EC for the Colorado State EOC, reported that UHF, HF and IRLP were the primary communications modes used at the EOC to maintain communication throughout southeastern Colorado. + DHS REPORTS ON COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY STATUS The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a 170-page report that details progress on each metro area of the country in re their capability for interoperability in communications. See <http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/grants-scorecard-report-010207.pdf> Also of note is a recommendation that DHS/FEMA establish a training course for the "Communications Unit Leader" position, and that this position be made a standard part of an Incident Command System (ICS) response. Chances are that volunteers such as ARES would work under this unit, so it might be wise for amateurs to take the course as soon as it is developed. -- Les Rayburn, N1LF, Helena, Alabama; National Communications System-NCS047, Navy MARS NNN0HSI, ARES-SHARES-Skywarn, ARRL Level 3 Certified OES + 2007 GLOBAL AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE SET FOR ALABAMA The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has announced that Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference 2007 (GAREC-07) will take place this August in conjunction with the 2007 ARRL National Convention at the Huntsville Hamfest. IARU International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, F5VKP/HB9AQS, says GAREC-07 will take place Thursday and Friday, August 16 and 17 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, just prior to the convention and hamfest. "Let's hope that this will be a good year for progress with our work in emergency communications, but that there will be no major disasters that will need them!" Zimmermann said. The ARRL Alabama Section and the Huntsville Hamfest Association will sponsor GAREC-07. This will mark the third annual Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference and the first held in the US. The two previous events were held in 2005 and 2006 in Tampere, Finland, which loaned its name to the Tampere Convention <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/1998/12/02/1/>. That 1998 pact is aimed at removing regulatory impediments to swift deployment of emergency telecommunications equipment and personnel to disaster zones, especially in those parts of the world where the telecommunications infrastructure may be marginal and the regulatory environment hostile. ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, chaired GAREC-06, held concurrently with the International Conference on Emergency Communications (ICEC 2006) and the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET). Representatives of more than 20 countries were on hand. Additional details on GAREC-07 will be announced, as they become available <http://www.arrl-al.org/GAREC07.htm>. + NEW WEB FORUM FOR EMCOMM A new Web forum has been formed at <http://www.emcommforum.org/>. This forum is for members of all EMCOMM groups who use any communication system. The idea is to provide a new place to foster the sharing of ideas and cooperation among the many different volunteer groups. Any group who would like their own private section of the forum, free of charge, simply needs to have their EC or other leader make a request; the section would be viewable by members of that group only (unless otherwise requested). This is a great communication tool for groups that would like to increase their Web presence and communication without the trouble of building and hosting their own forum. -- Brian Cook, KI4HLW, Vice President, Vero Beach (Florida) Amateur Radio Club (W4OT) <http://www.vbarc.net/>; ARRL Public Information Officer, Indian River County <http://www.hello-radio.org/>; <ki4hlw@gmail.com>; + COMMUNICATIONS ACADEMY 2007 IN PLANNING STAGE; LOOKING FOR KATRINA/RITA DISPATCHERS In preparation for Communications Academy 2007, the host is searching for anyone who has knowledge of hams who were pressed into service as public safety communicators (dispatchers) in the Hurricane Katrina and Rita events. A presentation on the agenda will address this subject and the host would like to contact anyone who had first hand experience. Please contact Ed Bruette, N7NVP <n7nvp@arrl.org>;. The Communications Academy is open to anyone with an interest in emergency communications, volunteer or professional. The presentations are designed to promote the development of knowledgeable, skilled emergency communicators who will support their local communities during a disaster or emergency response. <http://www.commacademy.org/> + NIMS IMPLEMENTATION FOR NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS APPLIES TO ARES Local government often calls on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for assistance. NGOs are non-profit entities working cooperatively with government. Such organizations serve a public purpose, not a private benefit. Examples of NGOs include faith-based charity organizations, the American Red Cross, and ARES (ARRL). The National Incident Management System (NIMS) enables responders from different communities with a variety of job responsibilities to better work together. NIMS uses a systems approach to integrate the best of existing processes and methods into a unified national framework for incident management. The NIMS Integration Center recommends 14 activities for NGOs that support NIMS implementation. The IC recommends that NGOs formally adopt NIMS, and identify a Point of Contact for local emergency management authority. Other recommendations include use of the Incident Command System (ICS), an excellent organizational tool. The use of ICS aligns the NGO with all other responding entities so that deployment is accomplished in a consistent, efficient and effective manner. ICS implementation must include the consistent application of Incident Action Planning and Common Communications Plans. The IC also recommends supporting "Integrated Multi-Agency Coordination Systems (MACs)" to ensure the NGO is able to communicate with local Incident Command Posts (ICPs), local 911 Centers, and EOCs. Other recommendations include establishing a public information system, revising plans and SOPs with NIMS, promoting Mutual Aid, exercising NIMS by participating in NIMS-based exercises, inventorying Response Assets using the Resource Typing standards found at: <http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/mutual_aid.shtm>, and sharing this inventory with local emergency management authority. Training may include IS-700 NIMS: An Introduction, and IS-800 NRP: An Introduction; Incident Command System (ICS-100) and Incident Command System (ICS-200). For guidance, refer to: <http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_training.shtm> A Fact Sheet, "NIMS Implementation Activities for Nongovernmental Organizations" is available at <http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims NIMS-Integration-Center@dhs.gov>; + LETTERS: ON STRESS REACTIONS In re the letter [ARES E-Letter December 20, 2006] by Bob Hejl, W2IK, Bob may not remember me but I too worked 9/11 in New York, at Red Cross Headquarters in Manhattan and Brooklyn, 9/12 through 9/19 (I worked for Jay Ferron, N4GAA as his night-shift supervisor). Bob's comments struck a chord with me. Bob wrote "Amateur Radio has allowed me to help others, but I feel as if I have missed real-time significance by being in another 'loop.'" After about five days in New York we were able to get Critical Incident Stress Management Protocols from Ron Lopez, KG6ILG, who is an Urban SAR team member (medical), and begin to implement them. We underestimate the effects of disaster stress on communicators (especially in the terrorism context). It's worth trying to manage them. Here in California, I emphasize the need to take care of oneself after working a traumatic situation. Often a stress reaction is a kind of deep numbness, which feels odd, almost as if "I must be bad not to care deeply about this tragedy." This too is a stress reaction, one (of several) that I experienced. If we let our pride as effective emergency responders keep us from taking advantage of the counseling and other help that is available, we ultimately diminish our future effectiveness. Our pride should also be in maintaining our effectiveness not just technically but also psychologically; not just capability but also readiness. -- Bart Lee, KV6LEE, San Francisco, California OES/ACS Liaison Officer, ARES former EC, ARRL Volunteer Counsel + LETTERS: RED CROSS BACKGROUND CHECKS I am amazed at the resistance to the Red Cross background checks and even more surprised to have heard and read how some state they intend to leave the emcomm community altogether in protest. The only people who have to be concerned are those with something to hide. On 9/11 we suffered great losses learning the lesson that people are sometimes not who or what they seem to be. Arguments about loss of privacy and identity theft are about as valid as Elvis sightings when such checks are done by qualified agencies. Now if the checks were done by Joe Volunteer on an old, donated laptop in the basement of some Red Cross field office, that would be a whole different story. But, they're not. I speak as someone who has lived with background checks my whole life, starting with the Army and then as a Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer, having prints and my background checked every four years. And then again for my service as a Volunteer Patrolman and again when joining both my City and County Fire Department's RACES and ARES teams. As for identity theft, how many times have you given full authority to the car salesman or shopping mall clerk to access your credit report? ID theft is more likely with them than the Red Cross. Personally, I want to know the guy next to me helping women and children in the shelter is not a rapist or pedophile in the same way I wanted to know the person I was selling a firearm to was not a criminal or had a mental or drug history. Having processed a number of people for employment over the years, the most common revelations were personal vices like chronic speeding, DWIs and gross debt. However, one fellow gun dealer had a guy come back with eleven restraining orders from five different women over three years; needless to say the guy didn't get the job. And as for the credit checks, would you want to be working along side a guy who owes multiple thousands of dollars to various casinos and is way behind on all his credit card payments? I don't want you working next to me or anyone else who isn't afraid to have their life and character scrutinized in exactly the same way we demand of the Guardsmen, Police and Firefighters we work shoulder to shoulder with. If after reading this letter you are still bent on leaving your RACES or ARES team as a protest over the Red Cross background checks, let me say in conclusion, don't let the door hit you on the way out! -- Jeff Sabatini, KI6BCX, Redlands, California + ARRL CERTIFICATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION Registration remains open through Sunday, January 21, for ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online course Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001). The course will also open for registration Friday, January 19, for classes beginning Friday, March 2. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <cce@arrl.org>;. + AMATEUR RADIO HURRICANE CONFERENCE SEEKS NEW WEEKEND The famous Miami Tropical Hamboree <http://www.hamboree.org/> and the 12th annual Amateur Radio Hurricane Conference are seeking new dates for 2007 due to a conflict with the Super Bowl. At this point, Hamboree and hurricane conference organizers are hoping to reschedule their respective gatherings -- either on the same or on separate weekends. "A future date has not yet been firmly decided upon, but we are looking at the months of October and November 2007 right now," says Hamboree Chairman Robert Cruz, KE4MCL. Hamboree organizers are open to suggestions from potential attendees and vendors alike and have posted a list of possible weekend dates <http://www.hamboree.org/2007dates.htm>. E-mail Cruz with your suggestions <dcat4955@gmail.com>;. Meanwhile, Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator John McHugh, K4AG, at the National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC <http://www/wx4nhc.org>, has contacted past Amateur Radio Hurricane Conference participants to find out if they'd be willing to make the trip if the conference took place independently of the Hamboree. + K1CE FOR A FINAL The ARRL National Emergency Response Planning Committee, of which I served as a member, will file its final report with the ARRL's Board of Directors this week. It is expected that after the Board meeting a list of action items will be culled from the report by the First Vice President, the chairman of the Programs and Services Committee, and the manager of the Field and Educational Services Department. Watch for news on this landmark report. _______ And finally, as the FCC's new expanded phone bands come into play, please, please use courtesy and respect for foreign phone nets that have operated on certain frequencies for years. True, no one owns a frequency, but a little caution and avoiding stepping on some of these longtime nets would be appreciated by all, help promote international goodwill and mitigate the Ugly American image we unfortunately own in today's world. See you next month! 73, Rick K1CE
