Joe Pistritto N3CKF has been appointed Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the city of Fremont area. Joe replaces Jeffrey Koger WO6U, who has resigned following more than five years of service as EC.

As EC, Joe will direct the local activity of ARES(r), the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He will coordinate emergency responses to local served agencies by ARES members, manage relationships with those served agencies, collaborate with other Amateur Radio entities such as RACES and local clubs, promote ARES membership, and coordinate and encourage operator training.

Here in the East Bay Section, Joe joins other Emergency Coordinators, each of whom has jurisdiction over a geographical area. John Rabold KS6M, as District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), coordinates the ECs in Alameda County. The four DECs in the section report to Herbert Cole AI6AT, Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC).

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in ARES. The only qualification, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve.

Any amateur can register in ARES (or update an earlier registration) by printing the ARES registration form and giving it to the EC for his or her area or other ARRL official. The ARES registration form, FSD-98, is located at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/fsd98.pdf

In the East Bay Section, ARES members are encouraged to hold certificates of completion in certain FEMA and ARRL courses, to be proficient in the handling of radio message traffic, and to participate in local Amateur Radio training and public service activities.

Congratulations, Joe!

Thirteen Amateur Radio operators from the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA) and ARES® participated in a disaster-response shelter exercise in the City of Alameda on Saturday January 9, 2010, at the request of the American Red Cross Bay Area. The exercise tested the ability of the City of Alameda’s CERT volunteers to open and operate shelters and an Emergency Volunteer Center for the city under Red Cross guidelines. It was assumed that telephone and Internet communications were unusable, so participants were able to use only Amateur Radio volunteer services for communications among the simulated exercise units: the City EOC, the Emergency Volunteer Center (EVC), two shelters, and the Red Cross command center.

For the Amateur Radio volunteers, the exercise began as they checked in on a Resource Net on the ARCA K6QLF 70cm repeater. Available ham resources were directed to the exercise site where they received assignments as net control operators or embedded communications resources. The operators set up and managed two tactical nets on simplex frequencies. Those nets successfully carried simulated message traffic among the exercise units, allowing the CERT volunteers to obtain needed resources and manage their operations successfully.

Participants met in a post-exercise “hot wash” to review what worked well and what needed improvement. The exercise underscored the importance of Amateur Radio in times of disaster, and it confirmed needs for continued training and for future joint exercises involving disaster preparedness groups serving the City of Alameda.

ARES and ARCA participants included Ron Bigelow KF6LSY, Fred Blas KI6BES, Garret Conklin KJ6GEC, Anthony Disalvo KI6TZG, Bruce Gillis KI6CYT, Shari Goforth-Eby K6AVW, Rose Kennedy K6LEZ, Sanford Lavine KO6JF, Chris Machini KI6TYY, Mike Piper KI6NHE, Flavia Rogers KJ6BIQ, Marianne Schenone KI6MYU, and Michael John Torrey KF6YRG.

Sanford Lavine KO6JF
Emergency Coordinator for the City of Alameda, East Bay Section
ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio™
www.arrl.org

Jim Duarte N6SSB has been appointed Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the Oakland and Piedmont area.

As EC, Jim will direct the local activity of ARES®, the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He will coordinate emergency responses to local served agencies by ARES members, manage relationships with those served agencies, collaborate with other Amateur Radio entities such as RACES and local clubs, promote ARES membership, and coordinate and encourage operator training.

Here in the East Bay Section, Jim joins other Emergency Coordinators, each of whom has jurisdiction over a geographical area. John Rabold KS6M, as District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), coordinates the ECs in Alameda County. The four DECs in the section report to Herbert Cole AI6AT, Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC).

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in ARES. The only qualification, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve.

Any amateur can register in ARES (or update an earlier registration) by printing the ARES registration form and giving it to the EC for his or her area or other ARRL official. The ARES registration form, FSD-98, is located at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/fsd98.pdf

In the East Bay Section, ARES members are encouraged to hold certificates of completion in certain FEMA and ARRL courses, to be proficient in the handling of radio message traffic, and to participate in local Amateur Radio training and public service activities.

Congratulations and thank you, Jim!

John Rabold KS6M
District Emergency Coordinator for Alameda County, East Bay Section
ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio™
http://www.arrl.org/

Attention All Amateurs…

FCC Issues Public Notice on Amateur Service Communication During Government Disaster Drills (Oct 20, 2009) — On Tuesday October 20, 2009 the FCC released a Public Notice clarifying the Commission’s rules relating to the use of Amateur Radio by licensed amateurs participating in drills and exercises on behalf of their employers. Entitled Amateur Service Communications During Government Disaster Drills, the Public Notice addresses participation by paid employees of organizations taking part in drills. Full Story

On Saturday September 26, 2009 approximately 25 Amateur Radio Operators representing ARES^®, RACES, American Red Cross, and the Contra Costa County Emergency Services Support Unit participated in the annual Contra Costa County Simulated Emergency Test.

SET 2009 was based on a 7.5 Earthquake along the northern Calaveras Fault. All telecommunications and utilities were destroyed. CERT teams established their incident command posts and reported field level intelligence up to their regional PSAP’s or EOC’s via amateur radio. From the PSAP’s and regional EOC’s traffic was than passed via amateur radio to the County Office of Emergency Services.

The motto of this years SET was “Break It and Make It Better”. Over the 4 hour exercise we identified several areas for improvement that will be addressed in upcoming monthly training.

Government agencies that participated in SET 2009 included: San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Town of Danville, City of San Ramon, and the Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services. With the success of this years SET, Amateur Radio has once again proved to be a vital communications link in support of  local and regional disaster response plans.

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