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Back-Up Communications Saves Lives
Unless you have experienced it for yourself, it is difficult to conceive of the
horror of finding yourself in the position where either you or a loved one
requires critical, life-saving help, and telephone or cell phone communications
are unavailable due to overload or destruction. Unfortunately, the vast
majority of families, neighborhoods and communities in this nation do not
have adequate back-up communications capabilities, and may well find themselves
in this situation during an emergency or disaster.
Radio provides the most effective back-up communications; but, what type
of radio would you use, what frequency would you use, who would you
call; what would you say; how would you avoid the congestion that would
surely be choking many frequencies? The most effective back-up communication
is to have a ham radio operator in your neighborhood that can relay your
emergency responder needs directly to law enforcement, fire/rescue or medical
services through the ARES/RACES networks that serve these agencies during
an emergency. But how do you contact the ham radio operator?
Most neighborhood do not have a ham operator available to them, due to
covenants and restrictions placed on many new neighborhoods over the last
30 years which restrict the use of outside antennas. This has effectively
kept ham operators (and thus a potentially critical emergency communications
link, especially in these times) out of these neighborhoods for the sake of
"maintaining the property values of the neighborhood". We would submit that
in today's environment, families may find it more desireable (and thus increase
values) to locate in areas that have an organized emergency preparedness and
emergency communications methodology in place. But that is not the case.
EMCOM Community Emergency Preparedness Coordinator volunteers help their
neighborhoods both prepare for emergencies, and set up critically required
back-up communications using the EMCOM NERCS (Neighborhood Emergency Radio Communications Systems)
specification. They realize something that most citizens rarely think
about: Emergency Responders respond first to those that call (or are able
to call) first. Subsequent calls for help must be dispatched from points
further and further away from the area of need. This may cause a delay of
many minutes that may be critical in life or death situations. When
resources are being stretched to their maximum, people may die; how far down the list do you want your
call for help to save a loved one to be?
Moreover, EMCOM Community Emergency Preparedness Coordinators may have
access to resources through other coordinators in nearby neighborhoods
or communities such as trained medical or rescue personnel that live in
their area, that can respond immediately to help. This is a resource that may only
have been know about or available through the EMCOM network.
We urge every family in every community to insure that your neighborhood
is protected by having an EMCOM Community Coordinator (and alternates), and
to set up an effective back-up emergency communications system; your life,
or the lives of your family may depend upon it.
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