[LeArc] ARLB054 Hams a bright spot during power blackout

[Tony Coniglio]

> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB054
> ARLB054 Hams a bright spot during power blackout
> 
> ZCZC AG54
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 54  ARLB054
> >From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  August 18, 2003
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB054
> ARLB054 Hams a bright spot during power blackout
> 
> When a power blackout struck at least a half dozen eastern states
> August 14, many Amateur Radio operators were ready and able to
> provide whatever assistance they could. Hardest hit were
> metropolitan areas like New York City, Detroit and Cleveland. With
> cellular systems overloaded or out altogether, the incident turned
> into a test of Amateur Radio's capabilities to operate without
> commercial power.
> 
> New York City-Long Island Section Emergency Coordinator Tom
> Carrubba, KA2D, called the response "a good drill," but says it was
> a cautionary tale too. "The lesson is that everybody gets a little
> complacent," he said. "Have emergency power backup and make sure
> it's working!" By and large, Carrubba said, ARES members did what
> they were trained to do. "It's going to show the worth of Amateur
> Radio," he said of the blackout response. "There were people on the
> air immediately."
> 
> Diane Ortiz, K2DO, the Public Information Coordinator for NYC-Long
> Island was one of them. When power went down in her Suffolk County
> community, she started up an informal VHF net. Over the next 20
> hours or so, it passed some 500 pieces of traffic. In addition to
> handling messages for people stranded in the city, amateurs also
> relayed useful information, such as which stores or filling stations
> were open and operating. With many radio and TV stations dark, hams
> were able to help fill the information void, Ortiz said.
> 
> In the Big Apple itself, ARES teams provided communication support
> for Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) set up at main
> transportation centers in Manhattan. ARES members also accompanied
> ERVs on fire calls.
> 
> RACES activated in most Greater New York City area counties after a
> state of emergency was declared. Some ARES teams--including a few
> across the Hudson River in New Jersey--activated or remained on
> standby to help if called upon. In New Jersey, a net linked the Red
> Cross lead chapter's N2ARC in Princeton with other New Jersey ARC
> chapters.
> 
> Michigan Section Manager Dale Williams, WA8EFK, relied on his
> emergency generator. Some Michigan ARES teams assisted emergency
> operations centers and the Red Cross, he said. In Ohio, Section
> Emergency Coordinator Larry Rain, WD8IHP, reports that all ARES
> organizations in northern Ohio were activated. Still going strong at
> week's end were ARES teams in Cleveland and Akron. ARES handled
> communication support for Ohio Emergency Management.
> 
> Nancy Hall, KC4IYD--who lives west of Cleveland--said she's glad she
> took the ARRL Emergency Communications Level I class. "I have to say
> that being a ham and knowing about emergency preparedness did make
> life easier for me and my family," she said.
> NNNN
> /EX