NYC
Emergency Communication Team Helps
Keep New York Safe; Seeking Volunteers
by
Daniel Perez for the New York Jewish Voice
(June 8, 2012)
The New York City Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Service
(NYC-ARECS), a NYC based auxiliary communications organization,
is looking for a few good men and women to join their emergency
communications team.
The NYC-ARECS
organization is made up of New York City based licensees of the
Federal Communications Commission who volunteer their time and
specialize in Amateur Radio emergency communications. Not unlike
other community minded organizations such as Haztolah,
Chaverim and Misaskim, the NYC-ARECS organization
is available to provide support to the communities where its members
live. The over-arching mission of the organization is to provide
radio communications for municipalities, as well as civil-preparedness
and relief agencies, during periods of local, regional, or national
civil emergencies. These emergencies may include natural disasters
(such as fires, floods or earthquakes) or acts of terrorism.
When emergency
agencies are required in a zone of disaster, their regular means
of communications can be affected by the same disruptive causes
as others. That creates a need for a supplemental or back-up communications
system, one that comes complete with equipment and trained operators
who are licensed by the U.S. government, all at no cost to the
public or the agency involved. Even though cell phones and public
safety radios exists, when a major situation occurs (such as Hurricane
Irene, the 9/11 attacks or a major citywide blackout) often it
is the Amateur Radio emergency communicators who are the only
one that are still able to communicate after cell and radio towers
are damaged or electrical power fails.
Members of
NYC-ARECS were activated during the 9/11 attack, as the cellular
towers, police and fire communications, and most television antennas
were lost when the World Trade Center collapsed. Besides emergency
traffic, radio operators shadowed some New York City officials
and medical officials, handled medical radio traffic, and assisted
the American Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations.
The organization's founding President and the current City-wide
Radio Officer is Charles Hargrove of Staten Island, a man The
New York Times once said carried enough electronics equipment
in his briefcase, "to set up a makeshift communications center
almost anywhere in the city." On 9/11 and all during the
recovery operation that followed, Mr. Hargrove was the incident
commander for amateur radio operations in New York City, reporting
to Mayor Giuliani's Office of Emergency Management and coordinating
several hundred communication operators that had arrived in NYC
to help.
In times where
there are no emergencies, the team keeps its skills up by providing
emergency communications support at Public Service and charitable
events for organizations such as the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society, March of Dimes, American Diabetes Association and the
New York City Marathon.
The organization
is comprised of many of the people that make up the melting pot
that is New York City. Not only English, but team members speak
Spanish, Italian, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic and even Yiddish.
"Our team is most likely the most ethnically diverse radio
communications team in the nation," said Shelomo Alfassa,
the NYC-ARECS Public Information Officer. "Our members
are from various backgrounds including Irish, Scottish, Italian,
Puerto Rican, Chinese, Greek, Russian, Egyptian and Israeli,"
he added.
On many occasions
the US Congress has commended teams such as NYC-ARECS for their
contributions to technical progress in electronics and for their
emergency radio communications in times of disaster. A section
of a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations
Act formally included Amateur Radio operators as a part of the
emergency communications community. Congress approved this measure
and the President signed the bill into law. NYC-ARECS remains
eager to see the adoption of new Congressional Resolutions which
may formally enhance the use of and broaden inclusion of, federally
licensed Amateur Radio communicators as part of any municipality's
comprehensive disaster and emergency plans.
NYC-ARECS
is a registered participant in the NYC Office of Emergency Management
(OEM) 'Partners in Preparedness' program and a member of
FEMA's National Preparedness Coalition. Persons with or
without an FCC radio communications license should contact the
team at info@nyc-arecs.org
and visit www.nyc-arecs.org. Obtaining a radio communications
license is not difficult, and it will allow you a unique opportunity
to provide a great service to your community and to your country.
