Building The Net

Somewhere in the county…

Monday Morning, 4:31AM. You are blissfully sleeping in your nice warm bed. You hear a noise that is trying to pull you out of your dream, it sounds kinda like a big truck or a freight train in the distance, it seems to be growing closer… You open your eyes, still half asleep, and you notice that the fan over your bed is starting to sway, but just as you think “wow, that’s weird” the approaching noise that originally got your attention slams into your bedroom with a force that you have never experienced before. You try to get out of bed, but get knocked back down. The entire room is shaking furiously. That’s when it hits you… We’re having an earthquake!

You gather your wits and somehow make it to your feet. You think to yourself, “I can handle this… where are my shoes?” You reach down and grab your shoes and put them on. You know that there may be broken glass and other debris on the floor, so you made sure to keep a pair of shoes near the bed for just this scenario. You grab the flashlight off the nightstand. It’s still shaking pretty good. Looking around for shelter, you crawl under the desk in your room. “Is this thing ever going to end?” you ask yourself. Then, as quickly as it started, it ends…

You hear noises from down the hall, not sure what they could be, maybe a fire? Better get moving and see what shape the place is in. Just then the power goes out. Using your flashlight you glance for damage as you move toward that unknown noise, it leads you to the kitchen where the refrigerator has fallen forward breaking the ice maker line and shooting water all over the kitchen. You shut off the leaking water thankful it wasn’t worse. You spend the next few minutes inspecting your home. All and all it looks like it did pretty well. You try to call out on your cell phone, only to discover that it doesn’t work. “Well, now what?” you say under your breath… Indeed, now what?

You toss some clothes on and head out the door to inspect the outside of the house. It’s dark, pitch black. The street lights are all out. You see other flashlights moving around other houses. You also see something else that makes your heart sink, it’s clusters of red/orange glows off in the distance. Looks like not everyone was as lucky as you were… You evaluate the outside of your house and don’t find any damage. This is good news. Those flashlights you saw earlier appear to be converging in the middle of the street. You head over to see if anyone needs help.

As you approach the group, everyone asks you if you are OK, and what shape your house is in. After exchanging damage reports with the other neighbors, you start looking around and notice the elderly woman that lives two doors down is not in the group! You ask if anyone has seen or spoken to Mrs. Davis. No one has. A few of you head over to her house and knock on the door. No answer… One neighbor says she has a key and runs home to grab it. Just as the neighbor disappears into her house, the door opens. Mrs. Davis seems a bit off balance and she has a gash on her forehead, above her right eye. You and the other neighbors help her back into the house and sit her down. While performing first aid, you all realize that this could be a serious injury. One of the neighbors attempt to call 911 for Mrs. Davis, but they can’t get through. You try yourself, and all you get is a fast busy signal.

Just then, the ground starts shaking again! It’s bad, but not as bad as the first one. It only lasts 10 seconds, but rattles everyone’s nerves. All at once, without anyone in the room exchanging a word, at a glance you could tell that everyone was thinking the same thing… This thing isn’t over, and it looks like we are completely on our own.

You head back outside just to see more of those red/orange glows popping up in the distance. It’s been about 20 minutes since the first shaker and although you have been hearing a constant background noise of sirens, you haven’t seen any emergency vehicles driving around your neighborhood. One of the neighbors that was helping Mrs. Davis tells you that she is drifting in and out of consciousness, and really needs professional care. You try 911 again from the cell, but the tower is still off line.

When you look up from your phone, you see a woman walking over to you from a few streets down. She smiles and asked if you need any help. “Yes!” You explain that you have an elderly woman with head injuries and can’t get a hold of 911. She smiles and says that she can relay her situation to 911. You heard her, but for some reason it didn’t register with you, but it did with the neighbor standing next to you. They quickly give all the information regarding Mrs. Davis’ condition as well as her address to the woman. The woman quickly writes everything down and without batting an eye, she raises her hand to a little mic clipped to her shirt and begins speaking into it… “Net Control this is KM6CCI with emergency traffic”, she reaches up to push the earphone closer to her ear, looks like someone heard her. “Net Control I have a 911 relay request. Female approximately 75 years has head injury and is drifting in and out of consciousness. Location is 1293 Oak St. Over”. She again listens, then starts again. “Roger, standing by, KM6CCI”. Turning toward your neighbor she tells them that she is waiting for confirmation that the message has been delivered. You are still a bit dazed. You neighbor next to you begins to say thank you but before they can complete the sentence the woman raises her finger as if to pause the conversation. Reaching for the little mic again she says “Net Control this is KM6CCI, roger and thank you. I will inform the reporting party, KM6CCI”. She looks up at both of you and says, the 911 call has been placed and they will dispatch the next available first responder. She askes if there anything else? Still in a bit of shock, you hear your neighbor say no, and thank you. She smiles and continues to make the rounds around the neighborhood.

Still a bit confused as to who the woman was, you ask the neighbor what just happened. They explain that the woman and her husband are Amateur Radio Operators that live in the neighborhood and use two way radios as a hobby. They also volunteer in times of emergency to help the community. You think to yourself how her help may have just saved Mrs. Davis’ life…

As you look off in the distance, the red/orange glows appear to be dying down, and the sun is rising. The fire department arrives to help Mrs. Davis. You experience a few aftershocks, but for the most part, the immediate danger has passed. In time, the power and phone services come back on and your world returns to normal. But still, you wonder about that woman. And what is Amateur Radio anyways?

Experts believe that commercial power, water services and all forms of communication will be down for an extended period of time after a major earthquake. Cell towers could likely be damaged or unable to communicate past their own cell. The cell towers that are functioning will probably be overloaded and restricted to 911 and emergency responder traffic after a disaster. This could be the case for several days. The Northridge Earthquake in 1994 took down phone and power for over 24hrs in many parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and for days around ground zero.

Fortunately, there is a group dedicated volunteers that drill and practice to be ready to step in and help with communications during disasters. They are the Amateur Radio Operators in your community. Many Amateur Operators (also known as Ham Operators) provide a free public service to their communities during times of disaster. Using their own equipment, these volunteers are able to relay vital public safety and emergency messages independent of all other communication methods. Amateur Radio Operators must be licensed by the FCC and are required to pass competency tests in both electronics and radio operating safety and procedures. Most Police and Sheriff’s Offices have Amateur Radio teams that they activate in an emergency to relay messages and information in the event of a communications failure.

Since there is a good possibility that the harder hit neighborhoods will not have any traditional communications, Amateur Operators in the effected neighborhoods will most likely attempt to relay any need for emergency response for fire and injuries or dangers such as down power lines and gas leaks to the authorities.

Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator. There are over 725,000 licensed hams in the
United States, some as young as 5 years old, and as old as 100 years old.

June has been declared Amateur Radio Month in Ventura County California. Not only that, but the last weekend of June is Amateur Radio Field Day. Field Day gives Amateur Radio Operators the chance to exercise and share their skills in science, electronics and communications with the community it strives to serve in an emergency.

Members of the Ventura County Amateur Radio Society (VCARS) and The Simi Settlers Radio Club will be joining forces in a national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise starting on June 24th at 11AM PDT and running straight through June 25th at 2PM PDT at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library located at 40 Presidential Dr, Simi Valley, CA 93065. Library hours are from 10AM till 5PM both days. This event is free to the public.

— Stu – AG6AG