[PBARC] FW: ARLB054 Hams a bright spot during power blackout

[E. Glenn Wolf, Jr.]

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB054
ARLB054 Hams a bright spot during power blackout

ZCZC AG54
QST de W1AW =20
ARRL Bulletin 54  ARLB054
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  August 18, 2003
To all radio amateurs=20

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