AMATEUR RADIO AND
EMERGENCIES
When Amateur Radio was young, most "hams" used Ford spark coils for
transmitters, to "talk" to another ham a couple of blocks away. Now,
hams chat freely with other hams half a world away, and the chatter is probably
quite similar - ways to make the station work better, and friendly gab about
the weather.
But when the weather gets serious, so do thousands of Amateur Radio operators. Even with the crude equipment they built for themselves at home 80 years ago, hams made extensive use of their stations to provide communications for others -- especially in emergencies.
The year was 1913, and a large windstorm created havoc in the Midwest, tearing down telegraph and phone lines (what few existed then), shut down power plants and blew down transmission lines.
Amateurs at the University of Michigan and at Ohio State University, along with scores of individual Amateurs in the region, successfully bridged the gap between isolated communities and the outside world. This was the first recorded instance in this country of Amateur Radio in providing emergency communications.
More recently (March 1993) thousands of Amateurs assisted with relief efforts after a gigantic winter storm with hurricane- force winds, tornadoes and blizzard conditions devastated the eastern United States.
A few months earlier, hundreds of hams provided stop-gap communications for several weeks after Hurricane Andrew devastated Florida's Dade county. Before that, they assisted with improvised communications after Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina and Hurricane Gilbert in the Caribbean and southern Mexico.
THE AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY®
Amateurs helping out after that 1913 Midwest storm had no organization. Amateurs who help out now are usually members of ARES® - the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® - organized by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), based in Newington CT.
ARES® is part of the ARRL's nation-wide field organization, covering all 50 states and has organized units in most states right down to the county level.
In 1913 no federal agency regulated radio, and TV didn't yet exist. Now the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates all kinds of electromagnetic radiation.
Overall, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® organized to implement Part 97.1 of the FCC regulations:
S 97.1 Basis and purpose.
The rules and regulations in this Part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:
(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO PROVIDING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. . . .(emphasis supplied)
In most cases Amateur Radio's emergency functions simply supplement conventional communications, such as the telephone system, broadcast radio and TV, and dedicated wire and radio services operated by law enforcement agencies and public disaster response organizations.
But Amateur Radio is used surprisingly often because telephone lines and agency radio systems become damaged or seriously overloaded surprisingly often. But making best use of Amateur Radio requires a strong and flexible organization.
For administrative purposes, the ARRL divides Florida into three Sections - West Central, Northern and Southern. Each Section is headed by a Section Manager (SM), elected by League (ARRL) members in that Section. The SM then appoints as many as nine staff members to handle different phases of Amateur Radio, including emergency communications.
The Northern Florida Section includes 42 counties, stretching from Pensacola to Jacksonville and south to Orlando. ARES® matters are directed by the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC).
North Florida
Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Plan (March 2006)
Northern Florida is divided into seven ARES® Districts, each headed by a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) appointed by the SEC. The districts are:
West Panhandle District
Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties
East Panhandle District
Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and Washington counties
Capital District
Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties
Suwannee District
Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee and Union counties
Florida Crown District
Bradford, Baker, Duval, Clay, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties
East Central District
Flagler, Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties
West Central District
Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Pasco and Sumter counties
The DEC in each District selects an Emergency Coordinator for each of his counties subject to approval by the SEC. The SEC, DEC and EC must be full members of the ARRL. Each EC may appoint as many Assistant ECs (AEC) as he may need. AECs need not belong to ARRL, but League membership is strongly encouraged.
West Central Florida's 10 counties are all in 1 district:
Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota.
Southern Florida comprises the remaining 15 Florida counties are in a similar organizational structure. Southern Florida's 15 counties are also grouped in 5 Districts:
Space CoastDistrict
Brevard, Osceola, and Indian River
Lake Okeechobee District
St Lucie, Martin, and Okeechobee
Treasure Coast District
Hendry, Palm Beach, and Glades
Gold Coast District
Broward, Dade, and the Keys
Gulf Coast District
Collier, Lee, and Monroe (Mainland)
Florida's Division of Emergency Management (DEM), a state agency based in Tallahassee, operates the state Emergency Operating Center (EOC) during relatively severe emergencies of all kinds.
THE RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE (RACES)
Another facet of emergency communications by Amateur Radio traditionally has been RACES, a communications arm of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its Regional, State and County units.
Created in 1952, RACES was intended to be an instrument of the Cold War, serving primarily "Civilian Defense" functions if and when the Federal Government shut down other Amateur Radio activities as it did during both World Wars.
Now, however, RACES, a relic of an earlier era, is kept on the DEM books to meet certain technical requirements of FEMA. Under the massive 1993 reorganization of all phases of Florida's state's emergency response plan, the state RACES net is no longer used in actual emergency communications.
The functions formerly performed by the state RACES net are now (in June 1993) performed by the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). In addition, ARES officials now sit in the State EOC alongside the Communications Directors of state agencies.
Radio nets operated by ARES® members now carry official messages between the state EOC and County Emergency Management Directors (CEMs) all over the state.
These same nets also carry emergency messages for the Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the Salvation Army and other emergency response and relief organizations.
At the County level, however, not much has changed. Most Counties with a strong RACES organization continue to use local RACES nets to carry official local government communications. In counties where ARES® and RACES had already become almost indistinguishable from each other, the systems remain almost seamlessly merged. And many Counties continue to rely entirely on ARES®.
Under the new state plan, County Emergency Managers and other emergency responders will benefit from the strong ARES presence at the State EOC, and the stronger ARES® net system.
SUWANNEE DISTRICT ARES®
In the Suwannee District of Northern Florida (see above), the ARES® organization cooperates closely with county emergency management in each county, as well as the North Florida Chapter of the American Red Cross. Additionally, ARES® units often assist county sheriffs, and local fire and police departments when requested. ARES® units also assist in providing communication for Alachua County Fire Rescue for the University of Florida football games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator:
Joseph D. Bushel, W2DWR
7212 175th Drive
Live Oak, FL 32060-7839
(386) 330-2583 (E-Mail: w2dwr@arrl.net)
Suwannee District Emergency Coordinator (DEC):
Richard Block, KG4CHW cell: 954-275-0652 home: 352-472-6996 (E-Mail:kg4chw@arrl.net)
COUNTY EMERGENCY COORDINATORS IN THE SUWANNEE DISTRICT
Alachua - Jeff Capehart, W4UFL àAlachua County ARES® Websiteß
Columbia - Ed Locklear, KF4CHG
Dixie - Terry Merkel, KI4IQD
Gilchrist – David Knight, WN4F
Lafayette - VACANT
Levy - Mike Brogan, WM3B
Suwannee - Ed Locklear, KF4CHG
Union - VACANT
Revised: 2 April 2007
If you have any questions or comments, please send a note to:
K4GNV@arrl.net