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 Previous: ARRL President Praises Amateurs' Response to Terrorist Attacks |  Next: In Brief |
NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 13, 2001--As the response to the unprecedented terrorist attacks on the US September 11 moves into a third day, calls have gone out for additional amateurs to support the Salvation Army's relief efforts in Washington, DC, and the American Red Cross response in New York City. Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service organizations are continuing to support on-scene emergency management teams and outside relief agencies in those locations and in western Pennsylvania, where officials continue their investigation into the crash of a fourth airliner that apparently was hijacked.
Salvation Army Requests Ham Volunteers in Washington, DC, Area
Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator Tom Gregory, N4NW, has put out a call for hams in the Washington, DC, area to support the Salvation Army canteens providing relief to emergency workers at the Pentagon during the next few weeks of cleanup. Amateurs will provide communication to coordinate trucks and supplies. "Groups of six hams are needed from 5 AM-12 midnight on shifts every day for the next several weeks," Gregory said. "Your help is needed."
The call resulted from a Salvation Army request to ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, for at least six additional operators to report for duty at the Salvation Army Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
Volunteers do not have to belong to ARES or ARRL. They do need a hand-held VHF radio--no cars are allowed in the area--and at least two spare batteries and a charger. Those willing to help should contact Gregory via e-mail, n4nw@arrl.net, using the subject line "Salvation Army Support" and indicating name, call sign, telephone number, times and dates available, and equipment available.
In neighboring Montgomery County, Maryland, RACES remained on alert and active on the 146.955 MHz Montgomery County Amateur Radio Club repeater and the 443.900 MHz RACES repeater until early Wednesday afternoon as the county government provided support to the Pentagon disaster site. Montgomery County RACES Deputy Radio Officer John Creel, WB3GXW, characterized the mood of the Amateur Radio community as "somber but professional." He said amateurs provided reliable communication among five civilian hospitals in Montgomery County in anticipation of casualties. Later, the RACES team aided the American Red Cross to overcome telephone system overload problems.
Creel called the telephone and cellular telephone system in the wake of the attack "very weak" and said it was rendered useless within a short period of time. "It just didn't hack it."
Creel said a Federal Emergency Management Agency team checked into the RACES net Wednesday to seek possible communication support. He said the Montgomery County RACES team remains on standby, if needed.
In that same vein, he recommended that Amateur Radio operators be ready to respond and react. "If you're not a member of an ARES or RACES group, now's the time to seriously consider joining." He said it was difficult for him to turn away offers of help from non-members who would not have been allowed access given the "lock-down" situation following the attack on the Pentagon.
Manhattan "Surreal" in Attack's Aftermath
ARRL Hudson Division Vice Director Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML, works for ABC News and was in Manhattan for much of the time after the World Trade Center attacks. He called the scene there "surreal."
"Using my ABC News and ARES ID, I was allowed to cross the George Washington Bridge. I was one of only three cars on the bridge going east, but a steady flow of traffic was going west out of the city," he said Wednesday. "Heading south on the West Side Highway I could see the fires where the World Trade Center used to be."
Mendelsohn said police checkpoints had been set up at every mile along the southbound route. "At each, ID was required as well as a reason for using the road," he said. "Being the only car on what is normally a highway that handles 120,000 cars a day during rush hour was a shock."
Mendelsohn said that as of Wednesday morning, some three dozen hams were supporting the Red Cross and Salvation Army units in Manhattan. "Several people are shadowing New York City Emergency Operations Center personnel, and there is a ham radio presence at the temporary city EOC," he said. "Support from outlying areas continues to pour in to the city."
Former ARRL Headquarters staff member Warren Stankiewicz, NF1J, was in Manhattan from the West Coast on business when the attacks occurred. "You could look down Madison Avenue and still see the smoke billowing," he said Tuesday evening. Stankiewicz reported the streets were clogged with people, a lot of them looking for a way out or just staring at the incredible scene. "The damage is unbelievable," he said. "Grand Central was a panic, and the trains were packed beyond belief. I talked to one woman who had walked four miles with borrowed shoes to get to the train." He said police and medical teams were deployed at all major stations in case trains were carrying the sick or injured.
New Jersey, Long Island Amateurs Volunteer; More Needed
ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Emergency Coordinator Steve Ostrove, K2SO, said Wednesday afternoon that between 50 and 75 radio amateurs from his section have been helping with emergency communications since the day of the attacks. Amateur Radio operators were stationed at four Red Cross shelters located across the Hudson River in New Jersey, helping to back up spotty telephone communication. The shelters were providing refuge for those individuals unable to return home because of restricted traffic into Manhattan. Ostrove said that a half dozen radio amateurs from Northern New Jersey were assigned Wednesday to relieve ARES operators in New York City.
A Red Cross emergency net has been operating on the NO2EL 145.37 MHz repeater, and an ARES net has been active on the WS2Q repeater, with liaison to New York City ARES on their 147.000 MHz (-600) repeater. The nets have been coordinating volunteer efforts and blood donations. Several chapters of the American Red Cross in New Jersey have been linked by Amateur Radio.
Rich Krajewski, WB2CRD, reports that the Jersey City Amateur Radio Club was called on to assist the Red Cross after their repeater atop the World Trade Center was lost in the building's collapse. He said that club member Stan Daniels, KB2FY, and John Hunter, KE2ZZ--who drove from South Jersey to help--were the backbone of an effort that set up a 2-meter antenna and 50-W station that allowed communication with the Morris County Office of Emergency Management net as well as others, including a Red Cross net. Hams also added 2-meter capability to local Red Cross emergency vehicles and helped them keep in touch as they served the shelters in Hudson County, delivering cots, meals and supplies.
Krajewski suggested that volunteers with 2-meter capability contact Claudio Perez at the Red Cross, 201-433-3100, Ext 20. "Volunteers with 2-meter hand-held rigs would be most welcome because, even though the phones are working again, their own primary radio system likely won't be coming back on line anytime soon," he said.
About a dozen members of the David Sarnoff Radio Club volunteered Tuesday to help the American Red Cross Central New Jersey Chapter in Princeton Junction. They activated N2ARC on the 146.46 MHz repeater. In addition to the 146.46 repeater, the Sarnoff club was monitoring the 145.37 repeater as well as the New Jersey RACES HF frequency, 3.990.5 MHz.
ARRL New York City-Long Island SEC Tom Carrubba, KA2D, reported that, thanks to the efforts of Suffolk County District Emergency Coordinator Bill Scheibel, N2NFI, eight operators from Suffolk County on Long Island were en route to New York City with more expected to follow. Nassau County Red Cross Communications Officer Lorraine Morrow, KC2CHA, was seeking additional volunteers from Nassau. "This has been a long process due to telephone difficulties," Carrubba said Wednesday. He also thanked those who volunteered from outside the region but noted that there is very limited access to the affected area, and security, shelter, and meals were issues yet to be resolved. Carrubba said he had an offer of operators from NYC-LI Section Traffic Manager Charlie Ferrando,WA2YOW, to handle health-and-welfare into New York City.
Marcia Forde, KW1U, Chair of the Eastern Area Staff of the ARRL National Traffic System said NTS will continue to monitor and be ready to help as needed. Forde said she wanted ARES/RACES organizations and relief agencies such as the Red Cross to be aware of NTS' "capability and readiness to serve."
Western Pennsylvania Amateurs Assist at Fourth Crash Site
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency this week asked all counties to activate following the fourth airline crash Tuesday in rural Somerset County, not far from Johnstown. Amateurs have been providing support for investigators and outside relief agencies at the crash site.
Eric Hegerle, N3VOC, of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network reports SATERN was using 146.610, 146.835, and 145.390 MHz linked repeaters for emergency communication between Pittsburgh and the Somerset County crash site. He reported some problems with interference from other repeaters in the region and asked users to avoid interfering with the network.
ARRL member Kevin Custer, W3KKC, arranged preliminary repeater communication into and out of the crash site on Tuesday to help the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI and other state and federal agencies that are on scene and continuing the crash investigation. Custer said it was "just ironic" that his 146.625 and 145.390 repeaters are very close to the crash site, and another two, 146.835 and 145.27 are in the same county. He said communication was "basically non-existent" because telephone and cellular systems were shut down or overloaded. "I have four 2-meter repeaters dedicated to covering the crash site, two of which are less than five miles away and are providing coverage for low-power portables," he said. He says he coordinated his efforts with the local emergency operations center.
SHARES Stands Down; SATERN Net Remains on the Air
The World Trade Center attack prompted an immediate response from the SHARES network of federal agencies assisted by the Amateur Radio operators who participate in MARS. SHARES, a little-known emergency service that allies MARS-certified amateurs with federal agency operators when normal communications break down, operates nets on government frequencies outside the amateur bands. The SHARES emergency activation ended at midday Wednesday. During its 15 hours of operation, the National Communications System headquarters received more than 800 station availability reports from across the US.
SATERN activated its HF net on 14.265 MHz shortly after the attacks, and on Tuesday was helping to coordinate blood supplies across the US. As of Wednesday, the net was handling health-and-welfare inquiries. The SATERN Web site also invites H&W requests. The Salvation Army has been collecting fresh water, supplies and donations in various localities in the Northeast to truck to New York City.
| Previous: ARRL President Praises Amateurs' Response to Terrorist Attacks | Next: In Brief |
