Emergency Communications in Lamorinda CERT and Ham Radio Working Together to provide Emergency Communications in the Lamorinda Area

Emergency Communications in Lamorinda

CERT and Ham Radio Working Together to

provide Emergency Communications in

the Lamorinda Area


What is Emergency Communication ?

How will it be used in an emergency ?

Who will provide it in an emergency ?

How will it actually be done ?

What will be your role in Emergency Communication in Lamorinda ?





Emergency Communication is a two-way communication system during a major disaster event, which reports what is happening in one place to someone in another place so that effective and timely remedial action can take place…….



Emergency Communication is a two-way communication system during a major disaster event, which reports what is happening in one place to someone in another place so that effective and timely remedial action can take place…….


…..Things like:

How many people are injured, and what kinds of injuries.

How many buildings (homes) are damaged….

…….and how badly

How many people need relocation to a shelter.


…..Things like:

Is there an eminent threat of fire or other menaces to persons in your area?

What kinds of road hazards might responders encounter

What kinds and quantities of supplies do you need



Typically, Emergency Communication starts with local community workers (CERT, and others) who canvass their neighborhoods looking for people and places which need help


This kind of information, and more needs to be communicated from neighborhoods,

(YOU)

to those people who can bring the fastest and most effective relief to your area……

Rapid Needs Assessment

Neighborhood Assessment following a major incident.

Lamorinda Law, Fire, CERT, HOA and Radio

February 10, 2014

The ability of local governments to perform a Rapid Needs Assessment accurately and within the first few hours after an incident or emergency is critical to providing a response designed to save lives and support life sustaining actions.

FEMA G557

Assessment Phases

Assessment is Accomplished in 3 Phases

1.Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) takes place during or immediately after the event and focuses on lifesaving needs, imminent hazards, critical lifelines and available resources.2.Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) identifies and affixes a dollar value to damages.3.Combined Verification includes a detailed inspection of damages to individual sites.

Why is Damage Assessment Important?

• First Step to Recovery!• Assists in identifying life safety issues.• Assists in identifying resources needed, i.e.

manpower, equipment, supplies.• Assists in identifying available resources.• Gives information to those that need to

plan, coordinate, and act on the incident.• Provides an accurate account and extent of

the emergency by providing information in a standardized manner.

The Form

Rapid Needs Assessment form, Rev. 02/12/2014

The Form DetailsCommon terminology for describing damage

The 4 Degrees of Damage

•Affected•Minor Damage•Major Damage•Destroyed

AffectedThe house has a tree on it. The roof is intact, the windows appear ok, and the house looks very livable. This residence is “affected”.

AffectedMasonry building with exposed cracks. Building may have additional damage but on the outside, it appears mostly normal and likely functional.

Affected

Less than 2” of water on floor. Foundation intact. No obvious structural damage.

Affected

This category includes dwellings with minimal damage to structure and/or contents and the home is habitable without repairs.

Minor DamageThe house has a tree on it. The roof is damaged, but only one area of the residence is affected. It’s repairable. Damage limited to 1 wall or roof.

Minor DamagePartial wall collapse but clearly repairable. Not a complete wall failure; building probably needs further technical inspection.

Minor Damage

No Basement. Less than 1’ of water in residence.

Minor Damage

Minor damage encompasses a wide range of damage and is generally the most common type of damage. Minor damage exists when the home is damaged and uninhabitable or only partially habitable, but may be made habitable in a short period of time with home repairs. Some of the items that determine minor damage are listed below: •Will require less than 30 days to repair. •Windows or doors blown in. •One foot or more of water/sewer backup in basement (i.e., furnace, water heater damage). •Has less than 50% damage to structure.

Major Damage The house has a tree that went through the roof to the ground. Multiple walls damaged. Heavy damage, may not be re-buildable.

Major DamageSoft story failure in Santa Cruz mountains from Loma Prieta earthquake.

The building, like many such red-tagged buildings may be repairable rather than demolished

Major Damage

2 to 5 feet of water on the first floor. Potential for major damage in the structure.

Major DamageMajor damage exists when the home has sustained structural or significant damages, is uninhabitable and requires extensive repairs. Any one of the following may constitute major damage. •Substantial failure of structural elements of the residence (e.g., walls, roof, floors, foundation, etc.). •Has more than 50% damage to structure. •Will require more than 30 days to repair.•One foot or more of water on the first floor (of a home with basement).

Examples of Major Damage IndicatorsEarthquake

Damage may include failure of one or more of the following: stucco siding, in combination with failures to structural elements, such as chimney, roof, buckling of walls, foundation, broken windows, racking of structure, masonry and mortar failures, and plaster cracks. Failure of non-visual “in-ground” items could be commonplace and further exploration may be required (e.g., water, sewer, and gas lines, wells and septic systems, foundations). (Assumption: residence is a typical post-WW II, California home with stucco siding.)Fire Any one of, or a combination of, the following could constitute major fire damage: severe smoke damage, fire damage to residence (e.g., roof, exterior siding, windows, and doors) water and/or fire-suppressant chemical damage, imminent danger from ground-cover loss. (Assumption: damage is to a standard ranch home.)

Examples of Major Damage Indicators

Mudslide/Earth movement

Any sign of earth movement that may affect the residence. (Note: there may be times when a hill shows signs of movement ¼ mile above a group of homes that are not (yet) damaged but all will be recorded as being in “imminent danger.” Other damage may include failures to structural elements of the dwelling walls, floors, or foundations.) (Assumption: typical ranch home built on or near a hillside.)

Examples of Major Damage Indicators

FLOODIf a house with a basement had more than 1 foot of water on the first floor, it ordinarily would have suffered Major damage, especially if the furnace and water heater are located in the basement. Without a basement, the threshold for Major damage would be in the 2 to 4 foot range, depending on length of time the home was inundated, home construction, and sediment content of the flood water. In most cases, 2 feet of water will require replacement of a 4 foot perimeter of sheetrock due to insulation wicking. With 4 feet of water there will most likely be a 6 foot cut of sheetrock required, if not full replacement. Two feet or more of water on the first floor also affects all appliances, lower cabinets, etc. (assumption: typical ranch home, quick rising and falling water levels, without velocity or chemical factors.)

Destroyed

‘nuff said.

Destroyed

Greater than 5’ of water.

Destroyed

Destroyed means the structure is a total loss or damaged to such an extent that repairs are not economically feasible. Any one of the following may constitute a status of destroyed: •Structure is not economically feasible to repair. •Structure is permanently uninhabitable. •Complete failure of major structural components (e.g., collapse of basement walls/foundation, walls, or roof). •Only foundation remains.

Destroyed(continued)

•Two or more walls destroyed and roof substantially damaged. •House pushed off foundation •An unaffected structure that will require removal or demolition (e.g., homes in imminent danger due to impending landslides, mudslides, or sinkholes; beachfront homes that must be removed due to local ordinance violations as a result of beach erosion).

Inaccessible

This group includes homes that are inaccessible by normal means, due to disaster-related road closures (e.g., bridge out, road flooded or blocked by landslide, mudslide, severe erosion, washed out, etc.).

Photos of Damage

• If you take photos of damage:–Take first photo of curb painted street

address, if possible– If no address, use GPS location from

your cell phone• Turn on Geo-tagging for photos or• Google Earth or other App• Mark it on paper for 1st photo

–Avoid photographing people

Other things to watch for:

• Collapse of a major non-critical structure • Significant damage to residential areas • Major road blockage • Serious infrastructure damage • Looting • Large groups of stranded or uninhabited

citizens


……So besides all the other responsibilities you may have as a disaster volunteer……you will need to communicate your needs to someone in another place, who can help you.


To do this you will need:

1. A reliable damage assessment recording system.

2. A reliable communication device to get that information to those who can help……


How will you do this?


FIRST: A Reliable Damage Assessment Reporting device


The Rapid Needs Assessment Form


NEXT:

A reliable communication device to get that information to those who can help


OPTIONS:

Use a cell phone?...Or a corded phone?


CELL PHONE / CORDED PHONE

Are cell or corded phones in operation?

….They might be…chances are ???

….Cell phones and corded use different lines

Are the lines jammed beyond use?

Do you know who to call?

Is 911 going to be much use to you?


……About 911….

In “Normal” Times

Cell Phones connect to CHP….then to local

Corded phones connect directly to local

….But the same issues of “crowded” circuits apply

….And, in a “real emergency” you, in the neighborhoods “on the ground” may not know what agency is working and where it will be!


From “Ghost Busters”,

The immortal cry:

“Who ya gonna Call?”


The Local E.O.C.

(Emergency Operations Center)


The Local E.O.C.


Every Town: Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda has one!

The local E.O.C. is where Emergency Response for your area is initiated and controlled.

Staffed by an I.C. (Incident Commander) following established Emergency Response procedures


The Local E.O.C.


…To repeat:

All emergency response is initiated and controlled from the E.O.C.!


And every E.O.C. has a Communications Center built into the system

The “COM” unit is headed by a “COML”, (Communications Unit Leader), and a staff of trained radio operators


THE ICS

Incident Command System



ICS is a subcomponent of the National Incident Management

System (NIMS)



Your link to the E.O.C. may be through standard phones……Each E.O.C. has a phone system built into it………But it may not be operable

The most likely means to reach the E.O.C. is through……..


RADIO!

Most Reliable for Several Reasons:No commercial phone service with its crowds, and possible non-operationDedicated, trained “COMS” operators are standing by at the E.O.C. Point-to-Point communication eliminates “almost all” possible trouble spots in the disaster system


RADIO!Until recently, information gathered by

CERT and other relief volunteers had to be relayed to the E.O.C. by Ham radio, using their network of Ham repeaters……


FRS RADIOIn The “Old Days”

(…..up until about 6 months ,ago…)


FRS RADIO

FRS radios could only communicate directly, one with another,


…..and because of FCC regulations,over a painfully short distance


CERT volunteers could communicate amongst themselves, block, by block relaying assessment data, but…..

Then What?.....


Ham radio operators had to be on hand to pass the information along to the local E.O.C.


Then came: GMRS Repeaters


GMRS RepeatersGeneral Mobile Radio Service


Your Current FRS Radio vs GMRS

FRS Channels GMRS Channels1 – 14 (½ watt)* 1 - 7 (5 watts) 15 – 22 (not legal)** 15 – 22 (50 watts)

20 – 22 (repeater)

* share 1 – 7 with GMRS** (don’t quote me!)



FRS Channels GMRS Channels1 – 14 (½ watt)* 1 - 7 (5 watts) 15 – 22 (not legal)** 15 – 22 (50 watts) 20 – 22 (repeater)* Share 1 - 7 with GMRS** (don’t quote me!)

So,What does all this mean to me?



It means that if you currently own an FRS radio with channels 1 – 22, or any other combination….It will work, as before at ½ watt, on all 22 channels, but you will not be able to transmit onto the new GMRS repeaters…..

You will be able to listen on GMRS channels


GMRS Repeaters

…..So if you want to actually use a new GMRS repeater in Lamorinda, you will need to buy a new GMRS-compatible radio.


GMRS Repeaters

…..So, Why do I want to use the new GMRS repeaters?

What will they provide over what I have now?


GMRS Repeaters

…..Direct access from your present location, to the nearest E.O.C.!

(Hopefully)*

*(“Ouch, that doesn’t sound good”)


GMRS Repeaters…..Explanation:

“Lamorinda is a beautiful woodland setting with lovely rolling hills……”

And that’s the problem with all radio communication in Lamorinda!


GMRS Repeaters“Lamorinda is a beautiful woodland

setting with lovely rolling hills……”

Woodland settings and rolling hills can soak up or deflect radio waves!


GMRS

BIG NEWS!As of about 2 weeks ago, we now have

threefunctioning GMRS repeaters in

Lamorinda!


Current GMRS RepeatersIn Operation!

Moraga Channel 20Orinda Channel 21

Lafayette Channel 22


Current GMRS RepeatersIn Operation!

Moraga Channel 20Orinda Channel 21

Lafayette Channel 22

With your conventional FRS radio, you should be able to listen to these channels


Current GMRS Radios

PRICE?

Motorola Talkabout MR-355R About $80.00 per pair

(Newer models are being manufactured)


Are you ready?

Ask yourself these FRS questions….

Where is your FRS radio?

How sure are you that it works?

Are the batteries fully charged?

How sure are you that you can operate it ?

…….. When was the last time you turned it on?


…The first question:

“Where is my FRS radio?”

…If you don’t know where it is right now,…

Chances are that the answer to the other

FRS questions would be “I don’t know!”


Not valid answers to the FRS question:

“Where is my FRS radio?”

…..”It’s at home. I don’t precisely know where, but”

…..”I loaned it to my neighbor.”

…..”My kids have been using it for hide ‘n seek.”

…..”I usually have it in the car….”


Where is your FRS radio?...”I don’t know”

How sure are you that it works?...”I don’t know!”

Are the batteries fully charged?...”I don’t know!”

How sure are you that you can operate it ?.....

…….”I don’t know!”


FRS NETS

Roll call nets…..

Resource net….Both are typically Traffic Nets…..with a Net Control

And are usually Directed Nets

Think of a wheel with a hub and spokes


LOCAL FRS NETS…..Are essential for developing and keeping radio skills

Should be a regular (weekly, monthly, etc.) event

Should be made to be enjoyable

Should rotate Net Control operators, regularly

Should encourage participation by children

…..Make the answers to the previous FRS radio questions all “YES”


Practice Makes Perfect!


The Lost Valley Model

Channel 8

at 8 PM

on the 8th of the month


….just an aside…….Before Lost Valley, there was Don Gabriel Way:

The Don Gabriel Way Model

Channel 9

at 9 PM


Began operation in 2007


….just an aside…….Before Lost Valley, there was Don Gabriel Way:

The Don Gabriel Way Model

Channel 9

at 9 PM


Sadly, although we started with 29 homes reporting in, lately, we have 1 or 2………or none!


Emergency Communication is a work in progress!

What works in one situation may not work in another.

What worked in the last disaster may not work in this one…..and

What worked in this disaster may not work in the next one.













What works in one situation will not work in another.




The key is YOU!

We can’t be sure how many, and when professional emergency responders will be available for your neighborhood.

How will they even know what is needed in your neighborhood?


The key is YOU!

…..It’s up to you and others like you, to train and learn, by constant practice, how to properly use your communications skills, so that when the “Big One” hits, we’ll all be ready

Ham Radio--… …--

…And now, for a look on another side of Emergency Communications, here’s

Ham Radio

• What is Ham Radio?

• Ham Radio is radio operated by amateurs.

Non-professional radio operators

..No ads…..no salary….no music….

…….For personal use by the operators.

Ham Radio

• What will it do for me?

• Personal enrichment• Opportunities to meet new people• Opportunity to feel personal enrichment by

helping the community• It’s FUN!

Ham Radio

• What can I do with it to help my community?

……besides emergency communications

Assist in local community events:

4th of July parade

Nor-Cal Kids Triathlon

Moraga Tree Line Triathlon

Ham Radio

• What can I do with it to help my community? (continued)

• Become a member of certain volunteer Ham radio groups and churches.

e.g. MOFD, SATURN, Red Cross, K6ORI, Lamorinda’s own Ham radio

club……..plus many others…..

Ham Radio

….A word about K6ORI……

…………What is K6ORI?

The Lamorinda Radio Interest Group

…….”LARIG”, for short

A group of persons interested in amateur radio

Ham Radio


We are principally interested in and were formed out of a feeling for the need for an organization of licensed radio amateurs in the Lamorinda area who could assist with local outreach programs, with special focus on local disaster relief in times of emergency

Ham Radio


……And at the same time, have fun, enjoying the thrill and excitement of Ham radio

Ham Radio


……We meet on the third Wednesday evening at The Sarge Littlehale Room, next to Orinda City Hall, beginning at

7:00 PM

…..There is no charge to attend meetings, and we welcome everyone, licensed, or not

Ham Radio


……So, come out, on a third Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM,

and see how you like Ham radio.

Ham RadioEmergency Communications

A Ham’s perspective on Emergency Communications

When the “BIG ONE” hits!



Our premise:

Regular communication lines will either be down, or hopelessly overcrowded.

Fire and Rescue may not come to our help immediately…..or soon?



Our concerns:

How soon will help arrive?

How will we tell Fire and Rescue what we need? e.g. supplies, clothing, food, meds

How will we assure local residents that loved ones in distant places are OK?

How will we assure them that we’re OK?


Ham Radio Networks – How They Work

Think of a wheel, with a center (net control), and stations around the perimeter of the wheel (reporting stations)



Types of Nets

Simplex Net – Direct, point-to-point communication

Each person has a radio, and each talks to any other directly.

Net control has ultimate authority for use!



Types of Nets

Repeater Net –

Each person has a radio, but each talks to any other through a repeater, an un-manned station, usually up on a hill, nearby. (There are about 20 in the area)

Net control has ultimate authority for use!



Types of Nets

In all cases, Net Control is situated very close to the E.O.C.


Often inside the E.O.C.



The first level of intelligence is gained by local CERT personnel in the neighborhoods.

Ham Radio is the link, by way of the Nets, between local CERT and the local E.O.C.

…….a good reason to have a ham in your neighborhood!

Ham RadioRequirements for a Ham License

How can I become a Ham?

1. Any age!

2. Citizen or Non-citizen

3. Pass a written exam

4. Pay a small fee (currently $15.00)



3 Reasons Why I can’t Pass The Exam

1.”I’ve tried to learn the Morse Code, and I just can’t get it!”



HOORAY!NO CODE REQUIREMENTS

NONE!AT ALL!

Since 2007




2. “I’m lousy at Math…..I’d never pass the Math in the exam.”




If I give you the problem:

c = b/a

and b =12, and a = 3,……..

Can you solve for “c”

….That’s how hard the Math is




3. “I get all flustered when I sit for an exam in some strange, cold, examination room, in some far-off location.”




3. “I get all flustered when I sit for an exam in some strange, cold, examination room, in some far-off location.”

……Your exam is in the same place you took the class, and given by your instructors, with coffee….no time limit!



Pass a written exam

The Technician Exam (2014 – 2018)

A. Question pool = 394 questions

B. Questions on Examination = 35

(4 multiple choice answers)

C. Passing score = 26 (74%)



Classes are FREE, (the book is $20.00)

The course is 6 weeks, a weekday evening, of 2 hours per session.

The exam is given in Orinda by “us” on the 6th session.

You will have your new Ham license by the following week.



For more information:

Email me

Keith Riley

[email protected]

Lamorinda Emergency Communications

Either Way:

CERT / Ham Radio

OR BOTH!

“U” are the central figure in COMMUNICATIONS

Documents

Emergency Communications in Lamorinda CERT and Ham Radio Working Together to provide Emergency Communications in the Lamorinda Area