In article ,
Michael Coslo wrote:

The major downside of all this is that as Emergency ops move toward this
mode, the question arises of why they would be using amateur radio to
perform the function at all - they might as well have their own system
on their own frequencies, that they alone use.

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

One of the REAL Reasons that Amateur Radio can play a part in Emergency
Comms, is really very simple, and usually not thought of, in many Govt.
EMS/Enforcment Groups.

What happenes when the Repeaters, and or Remote Bases, are lost due to
Power Loss, FIRE, or EarthQuake, at the High Point Remote Locations that
the EMS/Enforcment System uses, or secondly, what happens when the Telco
Links from the EMS/Enforcment Comms Center fail, due to these same
situations and the CommCenter can work the Repeaters and Remote Bases
via RF Links but can't communicate with the next higher Govt entity?

Cases on Point here. World Trade Center Collapse.

All local South Mannhatten VHF and UHF Remote Base and Repeaters for
New York, as well as most of the other Govt. Frequencies were installed
on Top of the WTC. When it collapsed, they lost 95% of their Repeated,
and Remote Base Comms, and couldn't talk to each other except on one
or two simplex Emergency Backup Freqs, that weren't common to ALL the
EMS People from ALL the Mutual Aid Responders.

LA Fire a couple of years ago.

Again, 90% of the local Camms were taken out when one of the MAIN
Remote Base and Repeater Location up on the Rim of the World Highway
was caught in a Flashover during a major fire. None of the equipment,
that was inside the building was damaged, but ALL the Coax, and most
of the Antennas were destroyed by the heat of the fire, causing these
systems to be OFFLine from that point, untill MONTHS later when the
tower was rebuilt.

Our EMS People depend on their Comms to work, and work reliably, in
oreder to be effective in thier jobs. when these systems fail, they
can still work their individual jobs, but their effectivness as a
EMS System is greatly reduced. A good Emergency Plan, with TRAINED
Volenteers, and Backup Equipment, and Frequencies, can help keep
these EMS folks effective.

How many EMS Systems have a Backup, Mobile, EMS RemoteBase and Repeater
Comm Infostructure, ready to deploy, should the fixed Infostructure
Fail?

Is there an Backup EMS/Enforcment Comms Policy, inplace, that sets the
rules for use of the minimal Simplex Frequencies that will be common
to ALL Mutual Aid Responders, for a given Massive Comms Failure, and who
is in charge of that traffic, and getting the traffic to the right
places.

The Feds have been trying to deal with these senerios since 9/11, and
are just NOW, starting to get a handle on SOME of the problems, and
solutions, that will be involved.

We see the RED Cross, starting to require their volenteers to be
Credentialed. I understand that SOME of the Enforcment folks
are issuing Limited Credentials to Trained Ham Club folks that
they have used before, and incorporate into their Backup Emeregency
Comms Policies and Proceedures.

All this is just for local EMS/Enforcment Comms, but who can provide
the Long Distance Comms, to the higher Govt. Entities, when the longlines
are out. This was a MAJOR problem in the Post Katrina New Orleans
Senerio. The National Guard usually HAS the equuipment, and MAY have
the personnel, but are they ready on a moments notice, or does it take
Days to ManUp and Deploy. Wouldn't it be nice if the Hams via their own
Club System, could have a BackUp Emergency Comms Plan and Policy to
provide such Systems from Local to County, and County to State, should
their be an urgent need, should disaster, of these magnitudes, happen.

Bruce in alaska just one of many, who actually Think about
such stuff......
--
add path before @