American Red Cross praises ham radio

Some words of praise for ham radio in general and a radio amateur in particular. This coming from the American Red Cross in the wake of the devastating storms that raked the Pacific Northwest two weeks ago.

Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM, reports:

The American Red Cross says that hard hitting disasters like the recent Northwest storms can knock communications for a loop. It says that in Oregon, thousands of homes and businesses were left without utilities, telephones or any lines of communication to outside help. But says the Red Cross, local residents in storm ravaged areas could depend on a handful of specially trained volunteers dedicated to an old-fashioned method of information sharing: Ham radio.

On the evening of Sunday, December 2nd, weather reports prompted Red Cross volunteer Scott Oerding, KE7PPM, to pack up his portable ham radio and overnight gear, and head to Tillamook to wait out the storm. A Portland resident of nearly 30 years and a seasoned volunteer with the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross, Oerding met up with his crew of eight other volunteer ham radio operators. They then determined where along the storm path they should locate operations in hopes of keeping the emergency dialog going.

According to the Red Cross release, Oerding would end up relaying dozens of emergency calls to the Emergency Operations Center for Tillamook County. But it was while taking a quick break that he became a ham radio hero.

KE7PPM was in the shelter's parking lot, a mud-spattered pick-up tore into the driveway. A woman in the vehicle told him about her injured neighbor. By Scott's account, the woman grew nervous and frustrated as she struggled to articulate just what had happened and who needed the medical help.

He managed to figure out that an elderly man, the husband of the woman's close acquaintance, had suffered a bad fall and required immediate medical attention. His condition was deteriorating rapidly. Scott reached for his hand-held radio and relayed the call for help. Another unidentified ham operator answered the distress call. He told Oerding that he had a functioning telephone and could take the emergency traffic.

Less than fifteen minutes passed before the ambulance raced past the shelter en route to the home of the injured man. Once on the scene, the EMTs trudged through mud and debris in the flooded home to stabilize the elderly gentleman before transporting him to a nearby medical facility. A bit later Oerding received word by radio that the man had shattered his hip and did indeed require the immediate medical attention he was able to summon.

The American Red Cross says that it anticipated that telephone lines, cell towers and Internet connections in rural communities could be severely impaired. So in collaboration with CERT and other partners the relief agency says that it pre-positioned ham radio operators in key locations. It then relied on them to deal with the multitude of storm related crises communications because Amateur radio equipment can be used in disaster areas even when power is out and phone lines and other communications systems are down. This is because these ham radio operators have the ability to run on their own battery or generator power.

Don Carlson, KQ6FM
Amateur Radio Newsline

Ham radio and the American Red Cross are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to the need for background checks on Amateur Radio communications volunteers. That said, the two groups continue to work hand in hand when disaster strikes.

Source: ARNewsline, ARC