[TWIAR] ARRL.org - ARES Teams Activate Following Fatal Florida Train Wreck

[Greg Williams]

NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 22, 2002--Amateur Radio Emergency Service teams from
Northern Florida activated to assist after more than half the cars of an
Amtrak "car train" carrying 418 passengers and 34 crew members derailed
April 18 near Crescent City, Florida. Putnam County ARES established
emergency communication from the site--on the Putnam/Volusia county
line--shortly after the wreck and also staffed a shelter and two hospitals.
Four people died as a result of the mishap and more than 100 others were
injured. An investigation into the cause of the derailment continues.
"The Amateur Radio response concluded around 4 this morning [April 19] after
all passengers were transported to hospitals or were put on buses for
transport back to Sanford," said Billy Williams, N4UF, of Florida Crown
District ARES.

Williams said the Northeast Florida Chapter, American Red Cross, responded
in the accident's immediate aftermath, and John Reynolds, W4IJJ, with help
from Duval County ARES members, organized the Red Cross communications
response using a local VHF repeater. Amateurs pitched in by staffing a Red
Cross shelter to supplement communication between the shelter and the Putnam
County emergency operations center in Palatka, where Miller Norton, N4RYX,
stood by and a staging area was established. Amateurs also were stationed at
a local hospital, and Duval County ARES operators staffed two hospitals in
Jacksonville to provide status reports to medical volunteers ready to head
to the scene if needed.

Within 15 minutes of the wreck, the Florida Crown Emergency Net activated on
a linked repeater system. A third repeater served as a base of operation for
Putnam County ARES, which was under the direction of Putnam County Emergency
Coordinator Mark Bradford, WF3F. That repeater was linked to a Jacksonville
repeater (W4IJJ) to handle Red Cross requests between the Jacksonville Red
Cross Headquarters and the scene of the wreck some 60 miles away, Williams
said. "The linked system provided excellent service," he observed.

Two Jacksonville hospitals were put on alert to receive patients. Victims
with serious injuries were flown to hospitals in Volusia County and in
Gainesville. The shelter and triage center at Crescent City High School
reported a peak population of 300 via Amateur Radio--most of them believed
to be passengers who were able to walk away from the scene. Amtrak later
bussed remaining passengers from the shelter to hotels for the night.

"This wreck could have been much worse," Williams observed after the
response had wound down. In all, more than a dozen hams assisted in the ARES
response following the train wreck.

Williams has posted additional details on the North Florida Amateur Radio
Society Balanced Modulator Web site.