[FLARES] ALERT - BRUSH FIRES

[JACK DOYLE]

THIS MESSAGE IS DIRECTED TO SARASOTA COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
VOLUNTEERS, but forwarded to others for information purposes only.  If
you feel the information below may apply to you CONTACT YOUR LOCAL EC.


Hello All,

BRUSH FIRE SEASON is upon us.  All Emergency Communications volunteers BE
PREPARED for deployment.  The conditions are right for wildfires to start
and spread quickly.

Today, Wednesday, March  23, 2003 at approximately 5PM, the City of North
Port (in southern Sarasota County) requested a Rapid Response Strike Team
activation to a brush fire in their city.  These teams include the
dispatching of units from several fire agencies from surrounding
communities that "meet up" and form a team.  

As a special unit Captain of Nokomis Fire Dept., I responded on this
initial callout.

The fire took on several 'heads' and with multiple wind direction changes
posed  potential serious problems.  I-75 was shut down, both north and
south bound lanes, and the fire did make attempts to cross the
Interstate, including a few spot fires on the median, which were quickly
contained.

Although nothing life-or-property threatening results occured because of
this, communications, again, was taxed to the max.  Units that needed to
talk to each other directly couldn't.

The MAC Unit was not requested, nor was the Sarasota County 100' portable
towers.  In this case, neither were needed, although at times certainly
could have been of assistance to those in the 'field.'

BUT BE PREPARED.  This fire was (what we consider in the fire suppression
business), a 'good stop.'  Weather, accessibilty to the area burning,
and, sometimes pure 'luck' (or lack of  cooperation of any of those
factors), sometimes have a much different outcome, and, thus, requires
our services of providing communications support and deployment of the
resources we've been trained to deploy.

We're here to serve.  Keep your radios tuned to the SERC Repeater and/or
the K4WCF 'big stick' repeaters.  

In the event of an emergency 'call up' we'll make announcements on these
repeaters with followup instructions on where you're needed.

If you're in the need of training, for the newer volunteers, please do
not hesitate to contact me.  For those 'veterans' who may want a
'refresher' ... ditto.  For those who are 'seasoned' veterans of our
emergency deployments (we've done many), please volunteer to assist in
the training of our newer members who want to be involved.

Thanks all, and 73.

Today was a 'close one.'  Other Sarasota County volunteers called into
action and deployed on today's incident included the K9 Search & Rescue
Team and the American Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team.  If 'things'
had worsened, WE would have been next.

So, in closing, BE PREPARED.  

Monitor the repeaters.  Also, please update me with any of your contact
information that may have changed since your original application
(address changes, phone numbers, new cell phone, email address, etc).

And, if you know of any licensed amateurs that would like to get involved
in our service to emergency services, let me know.  And, of course, all
are invited to stop by the ARES office at NVFD (below).

Again, 73
Jack

ARES/Emergency Coordinator
SARASOTA COUNTY

Contact:
Jack Doyle/WX1JAD
Home:  (941)485-0700
Fire Station 41: (941)488-8855
American Red Cross: (941)379-9300  X259

Sarasota County ARES Office
c/o Capt/ Jack Doyle/NVFD
111 Pavonia Rd.
Nokomis, FL 34275













-----------------------
Jack Doyle - WX1JAD
-(PIC) Public Information Coord/WCF Section/ARRL  http://www.wcfarrl.org
-(EC) Emergency Coordinator/ARES/Sarasota (FL) County
-Director/Sarasota Emergency Radio Club  http://www.qsl.net/serc
Jack Doyle - WX1JAD
-(PIC) Public Information Coord/WCF Section/ARRL  http://www.wcfarrl.org
-(EC) Emergency Coordinator/ARES/Sarasota (FL) County
-Director/Sarasota Emergency Radio Club  http://www.qsl.net/serc
Jack Doyle - WX1JAD
-(PIC) Public Information Coord/WCF Section/ARRL  http://www.wcfarrl.org
-(EC) Emergency Coordinator/ARES/Sarasota (FL) County
-Director/Sarasota Emergency Radio Club  http://www.qsl.net/serc


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