[South Florida DX Association] fema-admin-praises-ham.txt

[Bill Marx]

> 
> FEMA Admin Praises Hams
> 
> By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
> 
> At the Earthquake Communications Preparedness Forum, held on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 in Washington, DC, FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, had some kind words to say about ham radio. He noted that ham radio really is valuable “when all else fails.”
> 
> The Web page describing the conference <http://www.fcc.gov/event/earthquake-communications-preparedness-forum> has a video of all the talks given at the conference. Fugate’s remarks begin at the 18:45 mark . His remarks about amateur radio start at about 29:20.
> 
> I think it's great that the head of FEMA thinks so highly of hams. Before you get all excited about this, though, listen to all of Fugate’s comments. He has some interesting comments about all of the different ways that responders gather information and provide information to the public in an emergency. I think listening to all of the remarks will help give those of you who are involved with emergency communications more of an overall perspective, and may even help you evolve our role into something that’s more useful in the future.
> 
> At one point, for example, Fugate held up a cell phone and told the audience to think of this device as both a data point and a sensor. Folks with cell phones can help emergency responders by sending video and audio of the situation, preparing the responders for what to expect when they do arrive. I don't know how many ARES/RACES groups have incorporated video into their emcomm plans, but it sounds like it should be.
> 
> Also important, says Fugate, is a solid knowledge of communities, local geography, and place names. I'm not sure if that's normally a part of emcomm training, but it sounds like it should be.
> 
> I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an emergency communications geek, so perhaps I'm talking through my hat. It seems to me, however, that it's important to listen to what guys like Fugate are saying and work with them to make amateur radio even more relevant.