[Ares-races] Australian Ham Radio Operators Run Fire Fighters' Radios

[BillLennox@aol.com]

From:  http://www.arrl.org

Australian Amateurs Volunteering to Run Fire Fighters' Radios

       NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 24, 2003--With extreme wildfire conditions expected 
over the long Australia Day holiday weekend January 25-27, Amateur Radio 
volunteers have been operating fire fighting service radio communication 
equipment. The Wireless Institute of Australia Victoria reports that hams 
have been pitching in over the past week. Fires have been raging in the 
rugged alpine country of northeastern Victoria for 18 days, and smoke has 
blanketed area hundreds of kilometers away, including metropolitan Melbourne. 


       "There is an ongoing requirement for the hams to use their skills and 
handle essential and logistic radio traffic," the WIA Victoria said. 
"Hundreds of firefighters are battling the outbreaks in the heat and dense 
smoke, which for most of the past four days greatly reduced visibility 
limiting the use of aerial water bombers." 

       The WIA's emergency service arm, the Wireless Institute Civic 
Emergency Network (WICEN) has more than a dozen radio amateurs on duty at 
three center--Mt Beauty, Corryong and Ovens--operating radios and handling 
emergency traffic. WIA-Victoria President Jim Linton, VK3PC, said the forest 
lands fire fighting agency, the Department of Sustainability and Environment 
(DSE), called on WICEN-Victoria to provide operators to run its radio 
communication gear and free up personnel for other duties. 

       WIA reports that with no end to the fire emergency in sight, many 
residents of the stricken region have fled to safer areas as conditions 
worsen with high temperatures, single digit relative humidity and high winds. 
Celsius temperatures in the 40s, single-digit relative humidity and gusty 
winds have coupled with five years of drought conditions to set the scene for 
the worst summer fire season in 20 years, the WIA reports. In and around the 
capital city of Canberra, bush fires earlier this month claimed at least four 
lives, caused many more injuries and destroyed some 400 homes. WICEN was not 
activated in the Canberra area, however. 

       WICEN State Coordinator, John Kerr, VK3BAF, at Mt Beauty reports that 
the amateurs' assignments operating the trunking radio system have at times 
involved 12 to 14-hour shifts. He says the WICEN-Victoria members have fitted 
in well and the DSE has expressed its appreciation for the volunteers' 
contributions. WICEN-Victoria has drawn up a list of volunteers to replace 
teams now in the field over the holiday weekend and to deploy elsewhere in 
Victoria if needed. 

For more information, visit the <A HREF="http://www.wiavic.org.au/">WIA Victoria</A> Web site < <A HREF="http://www.wiavic.org.au/">
http://www.wiavic.org.au/</A>  > 










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