February 22, 2012
from: Hastings County
In an effort to review and improve our existing partnerships I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your cooperation and assistance during the events that occurred when the Bell phone lines were cut on Thursday February 16, 2012.
While no emergency was declared, we certainly consider this to have been a significant event as great deal of coordination was involved in ensuring essential services remained accessible to affected residents. There was an initial debrief of key members of the Hastings County Control Group. At this time we would welcome feedback on what you felt worked well and any recommendations for improvement.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
HASTINGS COUNTY: Interruption lasted 12 hours (A.R.E.S.)
No 911 calls missed, director says
HASTINGS COUNTY: Interruption lasted 12 hours
By W. BRICE MCVICAR The Intelligencer
Posted 2 days ago
Good internal communication saved the day when external communication broke down, said the man leading emergency measures in Hastings County.
Despite hours without phone service in a huge portion of Hastings County, there were no 911 calls missed during last week’s service interruption.
Doug Socha, chief of Hastings Quinte Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and director for Emergency Services, provided Hastings County council with a brief overview of last week’s telephone service interruption which left residences and businesses north of Highway 401 without service.
That lack of service meant residents could not use their phones to contact emergency services. But, despite the outage stretching over more than 12 hours, Socha said he has yet to hear of any calls missed.
“I haven’t been made aware of any missed 911 calls during that outage,” Socha said.
The incident began Feb. 16 when a fibre optic phone line was severed by workers near the intersection of Maitland Drive and Highway 62. It wasn’t until 11 p.m., Socha said, that Bell Canada had fully restored service.
In the interim, emergency services in the region pulled together to ensure residents’ safety was not threatened and, in an emergency, responders could be reached.
“We always had radio communication between all emergency services. At no time did we have any lack of communication in that regard. The issue was access to calling 911,” Socha told council members.
In a bid to mitigate any threats to safety, police stations, fire halls and ambulance headquarters in the area were “fully staffed” and social media and local media were used to let residents know if they could not contact 911 to travel to their local fire hall or police station in the event they needed emergency services.
Socha said, in addition, “amateur radio operators” were put in “key locations” to ensure communication flow continued and the public could alert emergency responders if they were needed.
Hastings County warden Terry Clemens congratulated Socha and his staff on the way the issue was managed and thanked him for the efficiency.
“We like to get practised up and that’s what you’re doing,” Clemens said, adding being prepared for emergencies of any scale is integral in community safety across the county.
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Phone Service Outage in Hastings County
Approaching noon on Thursday February 16, 2012 I received a phone call from the Emergency Planning Coordinator for Hastings County informing me that there was a situation in which phone and related communication services were inoperable north of Belleville in the County of Hastings. I was advised that there was no fire service coverage for two isolated communities, one in the centre and one in the extreme north of Hastings County. We (A.R.E.S.) were able to send an amateur radio operator to each of the two communities, as well as set up a 2-meter radio station at a fire hall in the centre (Eldorado) of the county. We were able to establish radio communication with the two isolated communities, as well as my location in the City of Belleville through the radio station at the fire hall in Eldorado. I was able to pass information to and from the Hastings County emergency management team. In mid-afternoon our network was joined by amateur radio operators at the Belleville Red Cross building.
Later in the afternoon, amateur radio operators from Belleville and Marmora, as well as the Tweed area, where dispatched to establish that there was communication from the local nursing homes and retirement residences to emergency services.
At 10:00 p.m. I received word from the Emergency Planning Coordinator for Hastings County that communication had been reestablished with the north and central areas of Hastings County. At that time I informed the active amateur radio operators, as well as those who were standing by in the areas around the municipalities of Kingston and Perth, that they could stand down. Matthew Dwight, VE3OCC, who had driven from Picton to Bolter, a distance of 350 km. (return), was released from his operating position at that time. He arrived back home in Picton after one o'clock a.m.
Google map link: http://g.co/maps/3c52v
There was no "life and death" traffic that we were required to pass on, but we were able to play a role in keeping the county's emergency management team up-to-date with situations at isolated areas of the county as the event progressed.
Bill Milligan, District Emergency Coordinator, A.R.E.S. Loyalist District .
Later in the afternoon, amateur radio operators from Belleville and Marmora, as well as the Tweed area, where dispatched to establish that there was communication from the local nursing homes and retirement residences to emergency services.
At 10:00 p.m. I received word from the Emergency Planning Coordinator for Hastings County that communication had been reestablished with the north and central areas of Hastings County. At that time I informed the active amateur radio operators, as well as those who were standing by in the areas around the municipalities of Kingston and Perth, that they could stand down. Matthew Dwight, VE3OCC, who had driven from Picton to Bolter, a distance of 350 km. (return), was released from his operating position at that time. He arrived back home in Picton after one o'clock a.m.
Google map link: http://g.co/maps/3c52v
There was no "life and death" traffic that we were required to pass on, but we were able to play a role in keeping the county's emergency management team up-to-date with situations at isolated areas of the county as the event progressed.
Bill Milligan, District Emergency Coordinator, A.R.E.S. Loyalist District .
Some notes/thoughts on my Deployment to Boulter on Thursday (2012/02/16).by Matthew Dwight, VE3OCC.
Here are some notes/thoughts on my deployment to Boulter on Thursday (2012/02/16).
Notification:
I became aware of the incident when I read about the fiber-optic cable cut in the online Belleville Intelligencer website just before noon. The article indicated there was problem with 911 service between north of the 401 and Bancroft. I tried contacting Bill VA3WOW on his home phone but was unable to as his phone being busy.
Standby:
Thinking ARES might be activated I packed a few things I thought I would need and started heading towards Belleville to be closer. I was on the way to Belleville when Bill contacted me on the VE3TJU repeater asking me to go on Standby. I told Bill I was headed towards Belleville and we decided would meet at his house.
Activation:
After arriving at Bill's, he asked if I could got to Boulter at the request of the Hastings CEMC. Bill indicated this was east of Bancroft on 28. Plugging this into my GPS I started heading north. Before leaving Belleville I decided to get a full tank of gas thinking there might be problems processing debit/credit cards due to the fiber-optic cable cut.
The trip to Boulter took close to 2 hours but I was able to remain in contact with Bill and/or Eldorado via the Tweed or McCrae repeater. Prior to arrival I was informed to meet with the official at the Township municipal office.
Arrival:
Due to the small size of Boulter, finding the municipal office was not an issue. On arrival I meet with Arlene, the office manager. Arlene was expecting someone as she had an e-mail from the CEMC. Imade contact with Eldorado (netcontrol) indicating that I was onsite and talked to the officials.
Operating:
The local land line phones in the area where restricted to calls within their exchange. The officials had notified the local radio station/schools/local stores that Mayo/Carlow residence should call 911 first, call a 1-800 number, if that is not working try 911 on their cell phones and if that is not working to call the municipal office in Boulter.
The office did have internet connectivity via Satellite and wasreceiving updates from the CEMC. The cellphone service was marginal.
The municipal office did have a form of radio contact with aneighbouring municipality's fire department. They could call out on the public works radio, which the firehall monitored and the office could then monitor the response on the fire frequency. I told Arlene to continue to use this method as the first method of communication, then use my connection to Eldorado. No calls for emergency service where received. Arlene's husband Jeff brought in a pizza, and coffee and pop was available at the office. I was well looked after.
Standdown:
I was told by Eldorado net-control that I could stand-down at approx. 10pm. After letting Arlene know, who had just been informed herself by the CEMC, I left Boulter. Peter, VA3PGB, and Joe, VA3JAD, remained available until I made it to Madoc and Bill, VA3WOW, remained available until I made it back home to Picton. I arrived back in Picton about 1am.
A few notes:
(1) Cash. Next to no power, lack of cash will stops a lot of things when debit/credit cards can't be processed. Even the Tim Horton cards stop working. The report of the OPP officer trying to get a gas station attendant to accept a manual copy of his credit card indicates no one can get by without cash. Jeff reported that Bancroft was a mess as no-one could process the debit/credit cards and he only managed to dig up enough cash to pay for the pizza. I had about 75cents in cash on me.
(2) Check my list of items to bring. I have a list I keep in a Rubbermaid box along with the items I should bring, not just for ARES, but other things while I am out on the road in the winter. I should have checked the list before I left. This insures (A) that everything I need is in the box and (B) the box is actually in the car. I need to add CASH to the list.
(3) Its good to know the name of the person requesting your services. Knowing Leanne Latter from Hastings County Emergency Services had requested our services helps when meeting with municipal officials for the first time. Arlene had known that someone from ARES was coming but may not have if her Internet connection had been out. I would have looked like a stranger showing up at the door with no official business being there.
(4) I was impressed with the repeater coverage from the Bancroft area. The McCrea repeater worked great with access to base stations in Belleville. Along with the Tweed repeater I had almost 100% coverage all the way to Bouter with the exception of a few low spots. These might not be available during a power outage. There is no backup power available on the McCrae repeater at present.
(5) With a mobile radio I was forced to operate from the car. This required me to run the car occasionally to keep it warm. I should have a battery operated CO detector in the car. The handheld transceiver was hit and miss receiving when I was inside the building and I did not bother trying to transmit. A dual band repeater in the car and dual band handheld would have allowed me to operate inside. Just an antenna on the building would have allowed me to bring in my mobile with my battery pack which I did have in the car.
Matthew, VE3OCC
Notification:
I became aware of the incident when I read about the fiber-optic cable cut in the online Belleville Intelligencer website just before noon. The article indicated there was problem with 911 service between north of the 401 and Bancroft. I tried contacting Bill VA3WOW on his home phone but was unable to as his phone being busy.
Standby:
Thinking ARES might be activated I packed a few things I thought I would need and started heading towards Belleville to be closer. I was on the way to Belleville when Bill contacted me on the VE3TJU repeater asking me to go on Standby. I told Bill I was headed towards Belleville and we decided would meet at his house.
Activation:
After arriving at Bill's, he asked if I could got to Boulter at the request of the Hastings CEMC. Bill indicated this was east of Bancroft on 28. Plugging this into my GPS I started heading north. Before leaving Belleville I decided to get a full tank of gas thinking there might be problems processing debit/credit cards due to the fiber-optic cable cut.
The trip to Boulter took close to 2 hours but I was able to remain in contact with Bill and/or Eldorado via the Tweed or McCrae repeater. Prior to arrival I was informed to meet with the official at the Township municipal office.
Arrival:
Due to the small size of Boulter, finding the municipal office was not an issue. On arrival I meet with Arlene, the office manager. Arlene was expecting someone as she had an e-mail from the CEMC. Imade contact with Eldorado (netcontrol) indicating that I was onsite and talked to the officials.
Operating:
The local land line phones in the area where restricted to calls within their exchange. The officials had notified the local radio station/schools/local stores that Mayo/Carlow residence should call 911 first, call a 1-800 number, if that is not working try 911 on their cell phones and if that is not working to call the municipal office in Boulter.
The office did have internet connectivity via Satellite and wasreceiving updates from the CEMC. The cellphone service was marginal.
The municipal office did have a form of radio contact with aneighbouring municipality's fire department. They could call out on the public works radio, which the firehall monitored and the office could then monitor the response on the fire frequency. I told Arlene to continue to use this method as the first method of communication, then use my connection to Eldorado. No calls for emergency service where received. Arlene's husband Jeff brought in a pizza, and coffee and pop was available at the office. I was well looked after.
Standdown:
I was told by Eldorado net-control that I could stand-down at approx. 10pm. After letting Arlene know, who had just been informed herself by the CEMC, I left Boulter. Peter, VA3PGB, and Joe, VA3JAD, remained available until I made it to Madoc and Bill, VA3WOW, remained available until I made it back home to Picton. I arrived back in Picton about 1am.
A few notes:
(1) Cash. Next to no power, lack of cash will stops a lot of things when debit/credit cards can't be processed. Even the Tim Horton cards stop working. The report of the OPP officer trying to get a gas station attendant to accept a manual copy of his credit card indicates no one can get by without cash. Jeff reported that Bancroft was a mess as no-one could process the debit/credit cards and he only managed to dig up enough cash to pay for the pizza. I had about 75cents in cash on me.
(2) Check my list of items to bring. I have a list I keep in a Rubbermaid box along with the items I should bring, not just for ARES, but other things while I am out on the road in the winter. I should have checked the list before I left. This insures (A) that everything I need is in the box and (B) the box is actually in the car. I need to add CASH to the list.
(3) Its good to know the name of the person requesting your services. Knowing Leanne Latter from Hastings County Emergency Services had requested our services helps when meeting with municipal officials for the first time. Arlene had known that someone from ARES was coming but may not have if her Internet connection had been out. I would have looked like a stranger showing up at the door with no official business being there.
(4) I was impressed with the repeater coverage from the Bancroft area. The McCrea repeater worked great with access to base stations in Belleville. Along with the Tweed repeater I had almost 100% coverage all the way to Bouter with the exception of a few low spots. These might not be available during a power outage. There is no backup power available on the McCrae repeater at present.
(5) With a mobile radio I was forced to operate from the car. This required me to run the car occasionally to keep it warm. I should have a battery operated CO detector in the car. The handheld transceiver was hit and miss receiving when I was inside the building and I did not bother trying to transmit. A dual band repeater in the car and dual band handheld would have allowed me to operate inside. Just an antenna on the building would have allowed me to bring in my mobile with my battery pack which I did have in the car.
Matthew, VE3OCC
Monday, January 30, 2012
Winter Field Day (2012/01/29) – F.C.A.R.E.S. – from ve3clq.blogspot.com
It was a dark and windy morning… So goes the tale! Well, at 0600L at Lamoine Point on Sunday morning (2012/01/29) it was very dark and very windy. Thankfully, the snow never really arrived in force.
We set up five HF stations with only headlamps and flashlights, bobbing around in the dark. The surprising thing was that it didn't take us much longer to set up than it does during the summer; and nobody got hurt. Granted the weather wasn't that bad … and it could have been a lot worse. But still, I believe that the many island and lighthouse activations we do over the summer really are helping us to get our act together.
We had VE3MNE, VE3HRW, VA3TBZ, VA3ORP, VE3UCL, VA3 VDP, and VE3CLQ in attendance. Thanks must go to Dave, VE3DZE, who arrived around 0800L to do a coffee and bathroom run for those that needed it, and a very welcome sight he was too. Thanks also must go to Les, VE3 KFS and Tim, VA3TIC. These guys couldn't be on site, but they were on the air making sure we made a few contacts.
Special mention must go to Bob, VA3QV in Ottawa,, who also came looking for us on 40 m. It's always good to chat with Bob, on or off, the air. Unfortunately, I was on the 20 m. radio when he call in but his message was passed to me via 2 m. simplex.
We made contact with 11 countries: Canada, USA, France, Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Iceland. We had 43 HF contacts, 2 VHF contacts, and 2 PSK31 contacts. All contacts were done on battery power.
Overall, it was a good time. Everyone was cheery and seemed to have a good time at the park. Winter Field Day next year? You bet. The plan is to find a cabin or cottage like we did in 2011 and make it a weekend event.
We had VE3MNE, VE3HRW, VA3TBZ, VA3ORP, VE3UCL, VA3 VDP, and VE3CLQ in attendance. Thanks must go to Dave, VE3DZE, who arrived around 0800L to do a coffee and bathroom run for those that needed it, and a very welcome sight he was too. Thanks also must go to Les, VE3 KFS and Tim, VA3TIC. These guys couldn't be on site, but they were on the air making sure we made a few contacts.
Special mention must go to Bob, VA3QV in Ottawa,, who also came looking for us on 40 m. It's always good to chat with Bob, on or off, the air. Unfortunately, I was on the 20 m. radio when he call in but his message was passed to me via 2 m. simplex.
We made contact with 11 countries: Canada, USA, France, Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Iceland. We had 43 HF contacts, 2 VHF contacts, and 2 PSK31 contacts. All contacts were done on battery power.
Overall, it was a good time. Everyone was cheery and seemed to have a good time at the park. Winter Field Day next year? You bet. The plan is to find a cabin or cottage like we did in 2011 and make it a weekend event.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Winter Deployment Training - F.C.A.R.E.S. (2012/01/08)
You don't need to be a genius to figure out that emergencies can happen at any time of the year, and that holding practice deployments only during the warmer months isn't going to help you when you get called out at midnight on a subzero and very snowy mid-February night. One only has to remember back fourteen years ago, January 8, 1998, when the people of Frontenac County awoke to the biggest ice storm in a century, to know that, as a member of an ARES group, one never knows when the call will come. One hopes a call out will never come, but you must be prepared ... just in case. There is a lot of truth to the phrase, “Practice makes perfect”.
So, it felt very strange this morning with the temperature at -5C, no wind, no snow on the ground and a brilliant blue sky, to be heading off to Rotary Park with nine other members for a winter deployment training session with the Frontenac County Ares group.
Dave, VA3ORP, training officer, took us through several subjects including how to dress in layers, and the best type of boots. Dave also went over the use of the buddy system, and checking each other over periodically for frostbite. We were reminded that it doesn't take long for hyperthermia, or frostbite, to set in, and those items need to be looked after immediately. Other topics included the effect of cold on our equipment, the danger that abrupt changes in temperature (from outside to inside) could have on the equipment with condensation. The effect freezing temperatures have on coax, and ways of keeping things dry. We also talked about how easy it is in the snow to lose bits of kit… normally the important bits go first!
Dave, VA3ORP, training officer, took us through several subjects including how to dress in layers, and the best type of boots. Dave also went over the use of the buddy system, and checking each other over periodically for frostbite. We were reminded that it doesn't take long for hyperthermia, or frostbite, to set in, and those items need to be looked after immediately. Other topics included the effect of cold on our equipment, the danger that abrupt changes in temperature (from outside to inside) could have on the equipment with condensation. The effect freezing temperatures have on coax, and ways of keeping things dry. We also talked about how easy it is in the snow to lose bits of kit… normally the important bits go first!
We ended the session by putting up and guying a portable mast system designed to hold a VHF antenna and an HF dipole. It was interesting to see it go up and who had to take their gloves off to make it happen. All in all, it was a great training session. For those members who are ex-military it was a good refresher, and it probably brings back a few nightmares of sleeping naked in a sleeping bag, in the snow hole, at -45C ... I get cold just remembering it!
This morning was a good lead up for Winter Field Day, an event every ARES and EmComm group should support. ... Bill Nangle, VE3CLQ, from http://ve3clq.blogspot.com/
Winter Field Day - The Saturday Report – by Bill Nangle, VE3CLQ
Winter Field Day - The Saturday Report – by Bill Nangle, VE3CLQ
2012/01/28
A slow day on the bands and I could hear a lot more than I could work. I did hear quite a number of stations calling “CQ winter field day” and I managed to work three of them.
First up was KB3BHL in Georgetown, Delaware on 40 m. Then it was Joe, WA4VAG in Walton, Kentucky on 20 m. Joe was using an ex-military PRC-70 putting out 45 W., and then it was back on 49 m. to work K8UO in Mount Clemens, Minnesota.
Only DX for the day was Anderson, CT2IUK in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, on 17m.
SFI today was 115. The A index was 7, the K index was 1, and the sunspot number was 39. Nothing really to get excited about. Maybe tomorrow will be better? Weather today was not nice, - 3C in winds gusting up to 70 KPH and driving snow.
I have an early morning start on Sunday. Frontenac Ares group are meeting at Lamoyne Point Conservation Area at 0600 L and plan on working the HF bands until about 1030 L, when we will break things down and go to breakfast.
Hope to work a few early birds ... hey, maybe VA3QV will be waiting for us to come up on 40 m.
Listen out for VE3FCT. ... VE3CLQ, Bill Nangle, F.C.A.R.E.S.
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