[CC-ARES-RACES] Interesting article

[Jim Dunn]

An interesting article, Jim.

Emergency system hits air 
Ham radio operators test verbal warnings 

By AMANDA PARRY
Monitor staff

Concord

It would be like having Paul Revere camped out in your
basement. Two local companies are testing a piece of
technology that warns people of emergencies by
speaking to them. "They look like caller ID boxes,"
said Jim Van Dongen of the state Office of Emergency
Management. "But they work a little bit differently."

The small boxes - which are linked to a dispatch
center - squawk announcements warning of everything
from a storm to a terrorist attack. While it could
eventually be a household device, for now the gadget
is being tested on a ver y specific local group:
amateur ham radio operators.

The two Concord companies that make the device,
ClassCo and Exacom, chose radio operators because they
knew they'd be working with people who were
"technically minded," according to Jerry Blanchard of
Exacom. The deal works out well for the radio
operators testing the product because they are also
involved in a program where they help emergency
workers communicate with each other.

All 20 members of CAARES, the Capital Area Amateur
Radio Emergency Service, lend their equipment and
their expertise during emergencies, according to Van
Dongen, who is a member of the group. "For example,"
he said, " a few Saturdays ago there were two fires at
the same time in Concord. The Red Cross set up a
temporary shelter at the (Green Street Community
Center). One of our guys went down there and the other
went to the Red Cross's headquarters so they could
communicate with each other."

Up until now, the radio operators would get word that
their help was needed through a call tree: Dispatch
would call one member of the group, who would call
another, who would call another, and so on. It could
take 30 minutes to find enough members to respond to
an emergency. But with the new call box device, every
member gets the warning at the same time, assuming
they're home. That has cut response time down to about
five minutes, according to Van Dongen.

The companies that make the device say it could
eventually be used to warn rescue workers such as
volunteer firefighters or EMTs. It could also be put
in people's homes to let them know about impending
calamities, both natural and manmade. "It would be a
much more direct way of warning people," said Ray
Chadwick, president of ClassCo. "It's like the
messages that come on the TV, like a tornado alert,
except you don't need to turn on the TV."

Both ClassCo and Exacom had started looking into
emergency related technology before Sept. 11. But
since the terrorist attacks, demand for these kinds of
products has risen, Chadwick said. The companies are
housed in the same building on Airport Road, and
employees have a lot of interaction. It was during
casual conversations last year that the two decided to
join forces on the project.

ClassCo makes telecommunications products, such as
caller ID boxes that read the incoming number out
loud. (This way you don't have to get up and check the
box, Chadwick said.) The company's products are
installed in 1,500 homes in the area of the Point
Lepreau nuclear power plant in New Brunswick, Canada.
The boxes replace the old system the nuclear plant had
of sending people door to door - all 1,500 of them -
with a warning.

Exacom is in the digital recording business. It makes
products that record, for example, conversations
between dispatchers and callers and dispatchers and
emergency workers. The company's products are in fire
and police stations and airports across the country.

The companies combined their products to produce a box
that speaks a warning and then records conversations. 
This way, if an emergency worker calls in for
instructions, he or she will be able to go back and
double check information. The recordings can also be
used later on if rescue crews want to recreate what
happened, either for a general investigation or to see
if they could have done something more efficiently.

Right now the companies are just testing the devices.
Officials at both said they're not sure when the
product might come to market or how much it would
cost. 
"This could change a lot," Van Dongen said. "It's
exciting to be part of this kind of experiment."

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

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