Conditions and circumstances for Lifeflight to be called is determined by the Public Safety organizations of the county. For landing site selection a helicopter requires a minimum area 60 by 60 feet, free of wires and obstructions directly overhead and not more than an eight degree slope. Avoid dusty areas. Hosing down an area helps. Site should be marked; usual markings are an emergency vehicle with flashing lights, smoke bomb, flares or car headlights criss-crossing each other at right angles.
(Extracted from "Landing Site Tips for Lifeflight" in TAC-ONE, official publication of the San Diego County RACES.)
Conditions and circumstances for Lifeflight to be called is determined by the Public Safety organizations of the county. For landing site selection a helicopter requires a minimum area 60 by 60 feet, free of wires and obstructions directly overhead and not more than an eight degree slope. Avoid dusty areas. Hosing down an area helps. Site should be marked; usual markings are an emergency vehicle with flashing lights, smoke bomb, flares or car headlights criss-crossing each other at right angles.
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Experience can be a very hard teacher at times. One such experience that leaves a lasting impression on emergency personnel is that there is never sufficient communications capability in a major disaster situation, especially in the earliest stages. As a result, forward looking government emergency response agencies have learned to use trained volunteer communicators to supplement their full time resources from the onset of the situation, just as they do volunteer fire and law enforcement personnel.
These bulletins serve multiple purposes both for the civil defense or the emergency management agency and the program participants.
For the agency a major purpose is to assist it in the use of emergency communications volunteers as unpaid staff. How to best use them can be very satisfying. Having qualified extended staff (albeit it unpaid) can provide astonishing benefits to the agency and the community. QUESTION: Is it important, or necessary, to have packet radio?
RESPONSE: Yes, with packet radio (digital data) you can access a world of data you may never achieve in any other way. For that reason, it is recommended that every EOC and/or communications center have a packet radio terminal, which consists of a radio, a terminal node controller, and a digital communications terminal (computer) and printer. Once the unit is operational and accessible to a local bulletin board system (BBS), it can be left on all the time so that any traffic addressed to RACES will be automatically transmitted to unattended government terminals. A licensed Amateur Radio operator does not have to be in attendance to RECEIVE traffic. It takes an unusual volunteer to provide dedicated and competent service to emergency management agencies, EMA. Such volunteers must be ready to appear on short notice, stay at their assigned post and duties until relieved, be willing and able to travel where needed. They may even provide the necessary equipment at their own expense. They cannot be "amateurs" in the sense of pursuing a hobby. Instead they must devote a great deal of time and energy to become as proficient as paid staff. The agency they work with must be able to depend upon their availability when needed, their skill at assigned tasks, and their ability to mesh into the overall disaster response exactly as is expected of paid staff. Fortunately there are people, ready, willing and able to serve in such capacity.
Question: Doesn't FEMA Run the RACES?
Response: FEMA has certain responsibilities, but "running" RACES (in the sense of control) is not included. The RACES is a LOCAL or STATE governments emergency communications reserve, sponsored and controlled by that government which sets up the unit. FEMA has NO jurisdiction or authority over the local or state government, including that of its RACES, except in the area of matching funds. In the past FEMA did provide a "Guide" to assist local governments in establishing the RACES. The operative word is "guide". Successful RACES units display or have the following characteristics and attributes: <ol><li>Administration of the program by staff oriented to management not technical work.
Question: How is the RACES unit activated?
That's a good question. What is an activation? Is it a "callout" enmasse? Does it mean "all or nothing"? Is it a fifty year old idea of passing traffic by the basket-full? Or, could it be different in today's world? It could be that the idea of "all or nothing" comes from the call-out tree as used by emergency communications units. That is where the Radio Officer calls one to three key persons who then call 3 to 5 people, who then call three to five people, etc. That process works well; but it can imply a full scale callout to those unaware that scheduling of shifts begins as soon as a need is apparent. Question: Is a "declared emergency" required for the RACES to be activated?
Answer: "No, that is one of the myths about RACES, and it is NOT true. The "declared emergency concept" is a fifty-year old hold-over of the long-gone idea that the RACES was to be a special service in which Amateurs would operate in wartime, hence a "declaration" by the president. One has only to read Section 97 to realize that was its genesis. "I'm a volunteer and I don't have time." Ever heard that response in a call out? Or, "I don't feel like doing it"; or "There isn't anyone available."
Well, it does happen, more so in units without a clear goal than in those with strong effective leadership that screens out those that lack capability and dedication. Fortunately, there is another side to the situation; namely those who seem to ALWAYS respond, no matter what the personal sacrifice. At some level we have all seen it, whether radio officer, communications officer, emergency coordinator, director of communications, section manager, search and rescue captain, volunteer fire chief, coordinator, pilots or communications specialist. In an emergency the most valuable responder is the person that can respond to the call out regardless of their personal situation. Key participants in Search and Rescue or Drowning Accident Recovery units are often of this type; and worth their weight in gold. From them you never hear "I don't feel like doing it" or "There isn't anyone available." When needed, they are there. Period. They lead by "doing". |
RACES BulletinsCA State OES began the Bulletins in the early 1950's to assist agencies and radio operators to become more familiar with RACES. They were issued periodically until 1985, at which time they began to be issued weekly over voice and digital radio systems of Amateur Radio and in print. Originally intended for California, increased demand, and a 1988 request by the ARRL for national distribution, led to their eventual worldwide distribution. Archives
December 1994
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