ARES Letter for May 16, 2007

The ARES E-Letter
May 16, 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

John Lloyd, K7JL, of Sandy, Utah, wrote: "when you make a reference
to an activity in a certain area such as 'Flagler County,' could you
please include where it is located?"

Your editor resides in, and produces this newsletter in, Flagler
county, Florida, located on the north-central east coast between
famous Daytona Beach and historic St. Augustine, with 19 miles of
coastline, and a rural western aspect of lakes, creeks, and farmland.
The county is 485 square miles, with a population of 67,200, mostly
along or near the coast. Flagler county is also a potential ground
zero for natural disaster, exposed to hurricanes, tornadoes, and even
tsunamis. As this is written, smoke wafts in from numerous forest
fires around the state.

The reason for "The View from Flagler County" is two-fold: one, to
present the local ARES group here as a typical program that other
groups might identify with, and two, as an Assistant EC for the
county, the editor may derive some credibility for producing this
newsletter. That is, if I were a reader, I'd like to know that your
editor is an ARES member, and not just some keyboard-tapper.

________________
In This Issue:

+ The View from Flagler County
+ Kansas Tornado Response
+ Northeast Storm Response, Recovery
+ NYC/LI ARES Supports Storm Relief Effort
+ 2007 National Hurricane Conference A Hit
+ Alabama Amateurs Deliver a 1, 2, 3 Training Punch
+ 2007 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (GAREC)
Conference
+ EmComm Fair in Hillsborough County, Florida, June 2
+ South Texas Joint Exercise Planned
+ Rebirth of ARES in Northwest Arkansas Welcomed
+ Letters: RVs as Assets, or Liabilities?
+ Letters: Texas EC Commends His Team
+ Letters: ARC and ARES at the Local Level
+ K1CE For A Final
__________________

+ Kansas Tornado Response

ARES responded to the tornado outbreak in southwestern Kansas, May
5-6, in which Greensburg was destroyed. Amateur Radio volunteers
entered the area Saturday morning and ran communications, according
to District 6 EC Godfrey Flax, KC0AUH. District 5 EC Robert Hanke,
WG0Q, activated ARES in Pratt, Stafford, Reno and Barton Counties.
Hams deployed to Greensburg and Haviland, and net control operations
were established in Pratt.

According to Kansas SM Ron Cowan, KB0DTI, repeaters that remained on
the air were some distance from the affected area. He and other hams
were monitoring 3.920 MHz Saturday. The Salvation Army Team Emergency
Radio Network (SATERN) was conducting logistical nets each day on
that frequency, and HF and 2 meter operations were established in
Haviland. Kansas and Western Missouri SATERN Coordinator June
Jeffers, KB0WEQ, says SATERN members in Kiowa County supported
Salvation Army canteens and the service center in Haviland.

The entire town evacuated Friday night, and more than 400 people took
refuge in shelters in Haviland and Pratt. On Sunday night, the Red
Cross requested radio operators to provide communications between the
hospital in Pratt and the shelter in Haviland. President Bush
declared Kiowa County a major disaster area.
 
+ Northeast Storm Response, Recovery

Another Nor'easter prompted ARES activation, April 18. "This was a
long-duration event that impacted the region for several days," said
Eastern Massachusetts SEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY, who is also ARES SKYWARN
coordinator for the Taunton NWS office.

New Hampshire ARES backed up landline service, including 911, between
Nottingham and the New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Management.
ARES, RACES, SKYWARN and MARS volunteers monitored river levels for
authorities. Numerous rivers were involved, as was coastal flooding.
Motorists had to be rescued. 

SKYWARN provided some 500 to 600 reports of snowfall, rainfall,
flooding, wind damage and wind-speed measurements. More than a dozen
repeaters served formal and informal SKYWARN gatherings.

Western Massachusetts SEC John Ruggiero, N2YHK, reported localized
ARES activity. Shelters opened in Greenfield and Leominster to house
flood victims; ARES provided communications.

In Connecticut, ARES supported the Red Cross and the Department of
Emergency Services and Homeland Security. A SKYWARN net gathered
reports of flooding, high water levels, power outages and rainfall
totals. Connecticut SEC Brian Fernandez, K1BRF, said ARES volunteers
staffed emergency management facilities in two of the state's five
regions, and ARES volunteers also staffed selected EOCs and shelters.


In Northern New Jersey, DEC George Sabbi, KC2GLG, in Bergen county
reported Bergen Amateur Radio Association volunteers supported
communication for a Red Cross shelter in Lodi, which housed some five
dozen clients. 

+ NYC/LI ARES Supports Storm Relief Effort

New York City, April 18 -- In what many have called the worst
rainstorm in a hundred years, NYC/Long Island ARES responded. SEC
Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, reported "ARES members were placed on stand-by
on Saturday in expectation of the Nor'Easter that was due." In New
York City, the Red Cross of Greater New York called DEC John Healy,
KA2ABV, to staff an expected nine shelters. Salvation Army SATERN
also asked that NYC District ARES place themselves on stand-by.
Shelter operations began at 8 AM Sunday morning at the request of the
New York City Office of Emergency Management. By the time the
shelters opened, Healy said "my five Borough ECs were able to fully
staff the shelters, as well as the EOC at the Red Cross. We put
together a staff of 30 ARES volunteers for the first 24 hour period,
with more to come if needed." More than eight inches of rain fell on
New York City. 

In Nassau County, DEC Jim Mezey, W2KFV, explained that "Nassau ARES
ramped up on Saturday with a check of our communication systems at
the Nassau Red Cross Chapter." "We were lucky as this storm did not
wreak the havoc that was expected." Rain totals were three to five
inches, with winds and coastal flooding, and power outages. The Red
Cross set up three shelters staffed with ARES personnel. Some Fire
Battalion EOCs were also staffed. Nassau OEM was staffed, and all
ARES frequencies were monitored. OEM was briefed with updated
conditions throughout the day and night. 

In Suffolk County, DEC Bill Scheibel, N2NFI, said that although ARES
was placed on stand-by, they were allowed to stand down quickly as
there was no communications mission. His 10 township ECs were
alerted, however. 

ARES communicators are to be commended. -- Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, New
York City/Long Island ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
<n2ybb@arrl.net>;

+ 2007 National Hurricane Conference A Hit

Amateur Radio at the 2007 National Hurricane Conference in New
Orleans was a hit. The ARRL had the entire afternoon on the second
day, with media, hams and non-hams filling the room. Steve Ewald,
WV1X of ARRL HQ moderated the Amateur Radio session. Speakers
included Gary Stratton, K5GLS, Louisiana SEC, Mississippi DEC Tom
Hammack, W4WLF, Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, New
Orleans EC Joel Colman, NO5FD, and TS Cedric Walker, K5CFW.  

The conference filled several large meeting rooms of the downtown New
Orleans hotel. The exhibits combined for a grand show of emergency
and disaster resources, management, coordination and supplies. Many
of ARES' served agencies and hundreds of manufacturers and suppliers
were featured. 

Major speakers included the FEMA Director, American Red Cross
President, and National Hurricane Center Director. Attendees heard
about the "New FEMA," the "New Red Cross" and hurricane predictions
for this season. The message was these agencies are evolving and
Amateur Radio will have to adapt to their new strategies. About 2500
people in the disaster and emergency fields were in attendance. The
hospitality of the local amateurs was tremendous and greatly
appreciated. 

FEMA Director David Paulison outlined the "New FEMA," as an agency
that will be more responsive, deploy more quickly, build better
relationships and enhance training. FEMA now has directors in all 10
regions and plans to be at 95 percent staffing when the hurricane
season begins June 1. 

Interim American Red Cross President Jack McGuire spoke on what the
Red Cross has done to better prepare for larger disasters, including
updating memoranda of understanding and hiring more permanent staff
and placing them in critical locations within FEMA regions. "The Red
Cross has purchased new technology and food, water and clean-up kits
and have staged them in critical hurricane areas."  

The Tuesday afternoon Training Session at the Hurricane Conference
focused on Amateur Radio's role in disaster communications, and it
gave radio amateurs who experienced Hurricanes Katrina and Rita first
hand a chance to discuss their experiences, share their best
practices and lessons learned. Thanks to Tom Miller, AC5TM, for
organizing and operating the ARRL and Amateur Radio exhibit booth at
the conference in cooperation with Citizen Corps. 

There has been big progress on many fronts in the New Orleans area --
especially in the downtown business district, the famous French
Quarter and other tourist attractions -- where activities are going
"full steam ahead."   Some parts of New Orleans, however, are still
struggling, and it may take years for these areas to recover or
re-gain what it had been like before Hurricane Katrina. -- Reported
by Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, Alabama Section Manager, and Steve Ewald,
WV1X.

+ Alabama Amateurs Deliver a 1, 2, 3 Training Punch

It was a busy month for Alabama amateurs as they supported the March
1 State EMA Pandemic Exercise, the March 8 State EMA, Industry and
Alabama Homeland Security Mobile Communications Functional Exercise,
and the March 14 Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
(CSEPP) Exercise.

Amateur radio operators from all over the state found themselves
providing Emergency Management communications support for real life
exercises. From delivering Pandemic supplies across the state,
supporting communications vehicle upgrade test and evaluation, to
providing vital communications support for a large-scale mock
chemical spill disaster, they did it all. Amateurs gained valuable
experience from these exercises. 

The March exercises were kicked off with an actual disaster on March
1: The deadly tornado outbreak that covered most of Alabama killed
nine people in Enterprise. Amateur radio played vital roles on this
day supporting the exercise and actual emergency communications. For
exercise reports and more details, contact Greg Sarratt, W4OZK,
Alabama Section Manager <w4ozk@arrl.org>;

+ 2007 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (GAREC)
Conference

The ARRL Alabama Section and the Huntsville Hamfest Association are
proud to announce that the 2007 Global Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications (GAREC) Conference will be held in Huntsville,
Alabama, on Thursday, August 16, and Friday, August 17, 2007. GAREC
will be held in connection with the 2007 ARRL National Convention at
the annual Huntsville Hamfest, August 18 and 19 at the Embassy Suites
Hotel, 800 Monroe Street, Huntsville, Alabama, Tel: +1-256-539-7373
Fax: +1-256-539-7374 Rate: $119. Group/Convention code: HAM. Other
hotels are also available.

Presentation information contact: Hans Zimmermann, F5VKP/HB9AQS, IARU
International Coordinator for Emergency Communications
<hb9aqs@arrl.net>;

Additional and updated information:
<http://www.arrl-al.org/GAREC07.htm>

+ EmComm Fair in Hillsborough County, Florida, June 2

Hillsborough (Florida) ARES/RACES will be sponsoring an EmComm Fair
on June 2 from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Hillsborough EOC in Tampa. The
goal is to stir interest in the ARES/RACES program on the eve of
hurricane season. Special presentations and a panel discussion on the
ARES/RACES role in EmComm will be featured. Contact Fred Nassar,
KD8AQ, ARES/RACES Officer, Hillsborough County, 813-785-7950

+ South Texas Joint Exercise Planned

Planning is under way for a joint exercise involving Amateur Radio
operators, South Texas Navy-Marine Corps MARS radio operators and a
local unit of the Civil Air Patrol. This exercise will involve
deploying radio stations at a field location while teaching the CAP
cadets how emergency communications is carried out by working
side-by-side in the erection of several types of emergency field
antennas, putting several stations on the air and operating on both
MARS and ham frequencies. Other areas which will be covered are:
calculating air time versus battery power, how to properly hook up
and use generators, running cables from the antennas to the stations,
how to use tuners, logging, passing traffic, how to operate HF
radios, "running split-frequency" and basic camping and field
procedures. It is hoped that this exercise will bring MARS, Amateur
Radio ops and CAP closer together in the event of an emergency
requiring joint cooperation in South Texas. -- Bob Hejl, W2IK,
NNN0KIS, NNN0GBY2, South Texas NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS ECOMM

+ Rebirth of ARES in Northwest Arkansas Welcomed

Washington County, Arkansas continues to rebuild and organize its
ARES group. A year-long project to bring three "paper" repeaters back
on-line to support local Amateur Radio operators and emergency
communications received a huge boost with the return to the air of
the 146.70 MHz unit. Operating under the club call sign of Washington
County ARES, WC5AR, the 146.70 machine joins the 146.76 machine to
provide east and west county full coverage. The repeaters complement
a full Amateur Radio station at the county's EOC, which includes a
pair of HF and 2-meter/440 MHz radios and seats within the
communications room. 

While the new equipment represents a financial commitment toward
bringing hams into the EOC loop, a welcoming attitude toward the ARES
members and new training for operators is making the difference in
participation. District L DEC Bill Smith, K1ARK, recently conducted
the first quarterly training at the Washington County EOC. Smith
presented the group with a new training ladder, which serves as a
guideline for new and established hams to advance their skills for
emergency communications. The training levels incorporate local
training, NIMS, ARRL emcomm certification courses and advanced FEMA
courses. The level system provides a framework endorsed by the local
served agencies - starting with Washington County's Department of
Emergency Management and its director John Luther, W5LED, and
Washington County EC and communications officer Larry Rankin, WX5AR.
NIMS training, specifically IC 100, 200, 700 and 800, are required
early in the system along with ARRL EC Level 1 and other emergency
communications courses. Coming out of a highly successful 2006 Field
Day and SET, the Washington County ARES plans a 24-hour operation run
for WC5AR in the upcoming 2007 Field Day. The result is increasing
membership for ARES in the county, and a spillover effect with served
agencies both within Washington County and neighboring counties. --
Dr. Bill Smith, K1ARK, District L DEC, Washington County

+ South Dakota Multi-County Multi-Agency Drill

On May 5, the Hughes/Stanley county (South Dakota) Emergency
Management hosted a multi county-multi agency drill aimed at testing
emergency preparedness while concentrating on communications. At 5:45
AM, the weather spotters (from the Pierre Amateur Radio Club) were
called out by Jim Zahradnicek, KD0S, to begin the scenario of a
tornadic thunderstorm approaching the area. At 6:20 AM, a spotter
reported a tornado on the ground near the Spring Creek-Cow Creek area
and reported damage as well as fires and injuries. This started the
other agencies' participation in the drill. Operators set up a
command post and established a communications system. As fire,
police, and other rescue services commenced operations, the hams
released command to the Sully County Sheriff at 8:00 AM.

Amateurs were placed with each of the agencies to help with
communications back to Incident Command and the EOC. At 8:50 AM all
commercial radio communications went down and Amateur Radio was used
for communications between SAR teams as well as for traffic back to
the EOC where hams relayed requests for equipment and supplies to
officials. They also served as a liaison with St. Mary's hospital,
relaying victim counts, medical conditions and their transport
status. Amateurs passed 141 pieces of traffic during the drill, used
APRS tracking of the hams at the drill as well as the Fire Rescue
boat where another ham provided communications.

EOC officials were pleased to be able to view the locations of the
PARC members and the rescue boat on an aerial view map in near real
time. The drill was brought to a close at 11:00 AM when debriefing of
all agencies was held and lunch for over 100 disaster exercise
players was served by the American Red Cross. -- Jim Zahradnicek,
KD0S, Pierre, South Dakota

+ Letters: Ham Shack as EOC

This month's issues of "Emergency Management" magazine has a great
article "The Ideal EOC". It's available to view on-line at:

<http://www.emergencymgmt.com/story.php?id=105338&utm_source=em&utm_medium=enews&utm_content=story>

In many ways, an Amateur Radio "shack" can be considered an EOC. Many
lessons about designing your space for effective communications can
be inspired by looking at well run EOCs.

After Katrina, we took several steps to improve our shack, including
creating "Fax Message Forms" based on IC-213 format. Now, next to the
fax machine, there is a red folder with a dozen of these forms ready
to go. Inside that folder is a list of the state EMA offices, with
fax numbers. During the Katrina response, we were often able to send
faxes to the Louisiana State Police or the Mississippi EMA office in
minutes. 

We also added battery-powered emergency lighting, installed a headset
for the landline telephone, set up extra J-Pole antennas in the attic
in order to "harden" our installation against storm damage and stay
on the air.

We've also recently installed a steel tornado shelter, added to our
stockpile of food and water, camping gear, etc. A television set was
added with both cable TV connection, and a set of rabbit ears as a
backup. Small generators, safely operated outside provide backup for
electrical power and large gel cell batteries keep us on the air, and
the computer working during short term blackouts.

Hams can't afford the GIS (Geographic Information System) software
tools that professional emergency managers use, but you can add
things like "Gibson Ridge," a very affordable weather radar suite
that rivals the tools used by the pros, and Google Earth can be used
to help locate streets or addresses during an incident. We've added
these software tools and many others to our new shack.

As noted in the article, a good scanner/printer/copier is an
essential tool for the shack-EOC, as well. Extra batteries, office
supplies, etc. is all part of a well rounded emergency communications
station. 

And if you only have one radio, then consider purchasing a second. As
my father used to say, "If you don't have a back up, then you don't
have a plan". -- Les Rayburn, N1LF

+ Letters: RVs as Assets, or Liabilities?

Based on reports I've heard from Amateur Radio operators who were
dispatched to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, I think the
suggestion that RVs be used as ARES assets [last issue] poses some
problems.

Rolling into a disaster area with an RV may be inappropriate. If you
have responders on the scene who are sleeping on cots and eating
MREs, the appearance of a palatial RV on the scene will make some
wonder why the guy with the RV thinks he's better than everybody
else. RVs also pose a logistical problem at a disaster scene because
they take up a lot of space relative to the number of people they can
accommodate. They will also require fuel that may already be in short
supply.

Hams with RVs should think seriously about whether taking their house
with ham station on wheels into a disaster scene serves the disaster
recovery or merely serves the ham who owns the RV. -- Bob Burns,
W9RXR, Hendricks County, Indiana RACES/SKYWARN

+ Letters: Texas EC Commends His SKYWARN Team

I have coordinated the SKYWARN program in McCulloch County, Texas,
for several years, and have often wondered what would happen if
severe weather were to threaten at a time when I was not available to
lead. My question was answered in a positive way recently.

I was away when the Brady Police Department dispatcher called to tell
me that a tornado warning was issued for the County. I gave her the
names and phone numbers of SKYWARN contacts, and started for home.

Before I had driven a mile, I heard a McCulloch County operator
passing weather information with the NWS meteorologists in San
Angelo. Others had also activated, following our SKYWARN training
protocols. They hardly noticed my absence, and that's the best
compliment that I, as their leader, possibly could have received.

In short, my hat is off to all of the volunteers in McCulloch County
who have attended the SKYWARN training classes, and who are
disciplined to carry on vital communications for the safety of the
community, even when their leader is away. Thank you for making my
job easier. -- Rick Melcer, Assistant Coordinator, McCulloch County
Emergency Management, ARES Emergency Coordinator, McCulloch County,
Texas

+ Letters: Red Cross and ARES at the Local Level

It was opined in the last issue that the Red Cross needs to
coordinate with local ECs upon arrival at a major disaster scene. The
problem is the Red Cross is already there, and when national
reinforcements arrive it is too late to start trying to coordinate.
Red Cross doctrine is that the Local Chapter staff will be the lead
in any disaster; this means the local EC should have already
approached the local chapter long before any incident and established
a relationship. 
 
In our area the local EC assigns an individual ARES member to be
stationed at, and as liaison for, each major local served agency.
This is so the agency knows who to contact with questions, and who
their operator will be long before they are needed. And the operator
becomes familiar with the agency's needs and what operating
conditions exist so they are better prepared. 
 
In my case I am assigned as our local Red Cross liaison. The Red
Cross in turn made me their Communications Section Lead and a Red
Cross Supervisor. This means that the local Red Cross Chapter not
only knows who we are and what we can do, but also that their
communications plan directly integrates with the ARES plan. We play a
part in their drills and training, and when "the big one" hits we
will already know how to work together. National reinforcements who
arrive for communications would report directly to me; I then contact
our local EC to see where they are needed and what repeater resources
they can be assigned if they don't join the current net directly. --
Brian Cook, KI4HLW, EmComm Forum, <www.emcommforum.org>,
<ki4hlw@gmail.com>; 

+ K1CE For A Final

The last issue featured an observation by South Texas SEC Jerry
Reimer, KK5CA, about the efforts of the TSA (part of DHS) to get its
employees licensed to operate amateur stations placed at key airports
along the Gulf coast for emergency communications. Jerry felt this
effort may be transcending the Army MARS-TSA agreement
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/07/27/100/?nc=1>. (Jerry was a
member of the ARRL National Emergency Response Planning Committee,
whose opinions I trust. He is a savvy emcomm guy).

Upon publication, I received a phone call from an Army MARS official
who explained that the reason behind the effort to get TSA employees
licensed is expediency in that they already have security clearances.
Once licensed, the employees would then join Army MARS and
participate under the terms of the agreement. The official assured me
there was no attempt on the part of the TSA to end-run the agreement,
nor usurp Amateur Radio for governmental purposes as part of some
nefarious plot; rather, that this was simply an effort to gain
licensees and new Army MARS members efficiently who already have
certain needed security credentials.

See you next month! 73, Rick K1CE