So just what is a communications emergency?

It’s when communications fail and puts the public at risk. Lots of different things can damage conventional communications systems, or overload them to the point that they’re useless. Severe storms, for example, can knock out phone lines, cell towers, police radio towers, or electrical service to those systems. Cell phone systems are designed to handle a small percent of subscribers at any one time, but in an emergency, even when the system is working properly, it can quickly get overloaded and emergency calls can’t get through. Look at September 11 or any hurricane. Even in normal circumstances, communications can fail. Underground cables can accidentally get cut by back-hoes. Hospital and 911 phone systems can fail. And emergencies can occur where there is no cell phone service.

Hams have been an emergency communications resource from the very beginning of the hobby. We have the equipment, and the skills necessary to provide emcomm. We are licensed for local, national and international communications. Some commercial and public safety communications systems can’t do that.

Just having those qualifications is not enough to get the job done. Some emergency communications skills are very different from what we use in our daily hobby. Traffic handling and passing formal messages, unless you do it everyday may be strange to you. Or if you haven’t done it in a long time, you might be a little rusty. I have been doing it since I got my general ticket and I am still not where I want to be. That’s why training is so important.

Emergency communications or “emcomm” volunteers come with a wide variety of backgrounds, skills, and experiences. What we have in common is a desire to help others. We are willing to work as team players and take direction from served agencies and emergency coordinators (EC’s), assistant emergency coordinators (AEC’s), radio officers (RO’s) and their assistants (ARO’s). We need to be able to think and act quickly under stress. And we need to have a positive attitude. If we decide to volunteer we will work under our local agency. We are there to help with and to assist in their needs. To be as professional as we can, that’s why we have to train and practice as much as possible.

You also have to recognize that we are not first responders. We will almost never be on the scene. In the beginning of an emergency, we’ll not be used very much. It’s only after a while, when local authorities learn the extent of an emergency, and when their communications systems fails to handle the traffic or gets overloaded. Then hams will be called in to help. As emcomm volunteers we need to remain flexible. Our job is to get the message through using the best means possible, whether its ham radio, CB, Family Radio, GMRS, the telephone, fax, email, or the served agency’s radio system.

Nets will be established and shut down as things change. Our assignments will vary from hour to hour and minute to minute. Stress levels will be high, but we need to stay cool. As the emergency gets under control and normal communications are restored, the nets’ activity will reduce and the nets will be deactivated. Then we can all go back doing what we do best.

EMCOMM AND AMATEUR RADIO

          Amateur Radio is a great hobby. Emergency Communications is a commitment as well as volunteering. What we need to do is to convince our local agencies that we can do communications for them better than they can do for themselves. The only way we can do that is by training and by practicing, by doing SETS, table top exercises, and practicing message handling.

  Some people say that we are volunteers and we don’t have to train, but I say that if we want to be taken seriously we are going to have to take extra steps. Look at the volunteer fireman nobody thinks they are amateurs. Agencies look at them as equals because they act like professionals. They are constantly training and testing their abilities. Why should we be different, we have to train and practice like they do. We need to read, test, and train to excel. We have to learn how to communicate, message handling, and have proper etiquette, and just passing tests isn’t enough. We need to train and practice over and over again. Look what we have accomplished, we studied and practiced to get our ham license!

So why should Emergency Communications be different. For years we all complained that we wanted to be taken seriously, now it’s our chance to prove them all wrong. We are not a bunch of ratchet jawers.

We have to see our own weaknesses and immediately work to correct them. Whether we are lacking knowledge or experience, we have to work harder. Reading articles more than once to really understand what we read, or train and practice over and over until we get where we want to be.

  The flexibility of Amateur Radio is what gives us the edge, during a real disaster. The commitment is more than weekly nets or a monthly social meeting. We need to have long range plans and written procedures and our training has to focus on one plan, Emergency Communication. Whether its RACES, ARES, SATERN, or the RED CROSS we all have to be prepared.