2021-04-10, 10:44:23
Well here I go again!
Assisting municipal EMOs, and community mesh networks, are not mutually exclusive. Both kinds of functions may well be needed in a major emergency scenario.
IMHO, the two most likely major emergency scenarios Grey-Bruce residents might be faced with are:
Scenario 1: A major winter storm (e.g. ice-storm) affecting a large region, bringing road & air movement to a halt, downing power lines, and impairing telephone service as sites run out of diesel fuel. Read up about the 1998 ice-storm in Quebec & you will see how bad it can get. Texas just experienced something similar.
Scenario 2: A big accident at one of the Bruce nuclear plants requiring extended sheltering and/or evacuation of nearby residents. (In reality this is many orders of magnitude less likely than the storm, but drastic public measures could be ordered by panicky local or provincial officials in response to a perceived threat. Sadly, it is the only scenario routinely practised by local EMOs.)
In scenario #2, There will be no shortage of official communications I guarantee! I think the most value hams could add would be the Welfare traffic role I described earlier. Landline and cell comms will get log-jammed very quickly by ordinary people trying to communicate in and out of the incident area. This has happened in all the recent natural disasters like Katrina and Sandy, and a "nuclear disaster" will be worse. Ham radio traffic nets would be a valuable adjunct to the official response, if only we had the capability. The issue is mostly not infrastructure, as many municipal EOCs have some kind of ham radio station already, and there are lots of hams with backup power capability. The issue is engagement (that "critical mass" I mentioned), organization and training. I don't think ARES is "outdated", the real problem is that most of us simply don't care enough to make it work.
In scenario #1 all bets are off. Hams may be needed to help with more than just welfare comms. I mentioned earlier a couple of events where hams were even tasked with tactical comms. In 2013, hams in the High River AB kept first responders going for about 4 days until their repeaters were put back I/S. In 2017, hams on St John island in the USVI provided ad hoc ATC for helicopters into the local hospital. I think the issues for us here similar to above, just potentially much more demanding. There are some infrastructure issues like long term backup repeater power supplies, but these are easy to solve - compared to the issues of engagement, organization and training. Also in Scenario #1, local person-to-person comm will be impaired, meaning people can't help each other, in addition to the first responders being impaired. This is where the community mesh net would be needed. Infrastructure is clearly added to the issue list here, and we are way behind compared to "traditional" ARES comms.
As Adam said, only 3 members expressed interest in emergency comms. Not a single person replied to the forum saying they were going to do RAC CEC or EMO IMO-100. The Grey Co. EC isn't on here & I don't know whether the Bruce Co. EC is following this thread (my bad, I should have informed him). Forum posts and emails back and forth among ourselves will not develop any emergency capability. I don't know how to reach and engage hams in GB, but I do know it's essential if we are ever to progress past forum posts and emails.
I really feel, as Adam said, that it's like beating a dead horse & I'm going to shut up now (wow I can hear the applause even with the rig off!), but I remain ready to help with anything.
73
Dave, VE3WI
Assisting municipal EMOs, and community mesh networks, are not mutually exclusive. Both kinds of functions may well be needed in a major emergency scenario.
IMHO, the two most likely major emergency scenarios Grey-Bruce residents might be faced with are:
Scenario 1: A major winter storm (e.g. ice-storm) affecting a large region, bringing road & air movement to a halt, downing power lines, and impairing telephone service as sites run out of diesel fuel. Read up about the 1998 ice-storm in Quebec & you will see how bad it can get. Texas just experienced something similar.
Scenario 2: A big accident at one of the Bruce nuclear plants requiring extended sheltering and/or evacuation of nearby residents. (In reality this is many orders of magnitude less likely than the storm, but drastic public measures could be ordered by panicky local or provincial officials in response to a perceived threat. Sadly, it is the only scenario routinely practised by local EMOs.)
In scenario #2, There will be no shortage of official communications I guarantee! I think the most value hams could add would be the Welfare traffic role I described earlier. Landline and cell comms will get log-jammed very quickly by ordinary people trying to communicate in and out of the incident area. This has happened in all the recent natural disasters like Katrina and Sandy, and a "nuclear disaster" will be worse. Ham radio traffic nets would be a valuable adjunct to the official response, if only we had the capability. The issue is mostly not infrastructure, as many municipal EOCs have some kind of ham radio station already, and there are lots of hams with backup power capability. The issue is engagement (that "critical mass" I mentioned), organization and training. I don't think ARES is "outdated", the real problem is that most of us simply don't care enough to make it work.
In scenario #1 all bets are off. Hams may be needed to help with more than just welfare comms. I mentioned earlier a couple of events where hams were even tasked with tactical comms. In 2013, hams in the High River AB kept first responders going for about 4 days until their repeaters were put back I/S. In 2017, hams on St John island in the USVI provided ad hoc ATC for helicopters into the local hospital. I think the issues for us here similar to above, just potentially much more demanding. There are some infrastructure issues like long term backup repeater power supplies, but these are easy to solve - compared to the issues of engagement, organization and training. Also in Scenario #1, local person-to-person comm will be impaired, meaning people can't help each other, in addition to the first responders being impaired. This is where the community mesh net would be needed. Infrastructure is clearly added to the issue list here, and we are way behind compared to "traditional" ARES comms.
As Adam said, only 3 members expressed interest in emergency comms. Not a single person replied to the forum saying they were going to do RAC CEC or EMO IMO-100. The Grey Co. EC isn't on here & I don't know whether the Bruce Co. EC is following this thread (my bad, I should have informed him). Forum posts and emails back and forth among ourselves will not develop any emergency capability. I don't know how to reach and engage hams in GB, but I do know it's essential if we are ever to progress past forum posts and emails.
I really feel, as Adam said, that it's like beating a dead horse & I'm going to shut up now (wow I can hear the applause even with the rig off!), but I remain ready to help with anything.
73
Dave, VE3WI