Volunteer Radio Communicators Respond to 9-1-1 Calls
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Starting at approximately 12 noon on Sunday September 19, 2010 and continuing for about six hours, volunteers from the Huntington Beach Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), will conduct a yearly drill to demonstrate its ability to provide a backup radio system to dispatch Fire Department resources and maintain communications if the City’s existing two-way radio system fails.
HB RACES Chief Radio Officer Dr. Steve Graboff briefs the volunteer radio operators in preparation for the 9-1-1 drill this coming Sunday, September 19.
During the city-wide emergency exercise, RACES communicators will set up Amateur (“ham”) Radio equipment at the Huntington Beach Police Department 9-1-1 communications center, the Fire Department Operations Center, and at each of the eight fire stations throughout Huntington Beach. Radio operators will also install temporary Amateur Radio communications gear on each fire apparatus in the city.
Incoming Fire 9-1-1 calls will be handled by RACES communicators and relayed via ham radio to the Fire Operations Center, where the supervising Fire Department officer will assign units to respond to the call. The units will then be dispatched using the ham radio network to the RACES communicators at the stations and riding on the fire apparatus. Status and availability, as well as city-wide tactical communications, will be maintained via RACES Amateur Radio emcomm.
Dr. Steve Graboff, the HB RACES Chief Radio Officer, said, “This is a ‘Shadow’ exercise, in which our group of volunteers work in parallel with the existing radio system. It is important to know this is a practice run, with a simulated shutdown of the existing system. The existing MetroNet system and their operators will continue to receive and dispatch 9-1-1 calls normally.”
In years past, the RACES team has responded with equal or better dispatch times compared to the existing system, and because of this, the fire department has improved their system by modifying dispatch protocol to improve Fire Department response times.
“With communications support from HB RACES, the citizens of Huntington Beach can be assured that the Fire Department will respond to their calls even if the City’s communications systems fail,” Graboff continued.
About Huntington Beach RACES
The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, or RACES (pronounced “RAY-sees”) is an all-volunteer Amateur Radio emergency communications group that is part of the Huntington Beach Fire Department Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security. RACES communicators provide their own Amateur Radio equipment in support of emergency communications for the City of Huntington Beach.
For more information on HB RACES, go to www.hbraces.org
For further information contact:
Steven R. Graboff, MD
Huntington Beach Fire Department
RACES Chief Radio Officer
ocbonedoc-at-gmail-dot-com
Wayne Yoshida
Huntington Beach Fire Department
RACES Public Information Officer
310-357-4761
kh6kine-at-earthlink-dot-net
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