TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES BULLETIN NR 13.31 DATE: August 4, 2013 SUBJECT: GET THE COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS
Before providing safety communications for an event, be sure to get the complete instructions from those who are in charge of that event. Even though you may have provided the safety communications for many years for that event, there may be some changes that you're not aware of. Have a meeting with those in charge, well in advance, of the event and find out what kind of activities may have been changed since the last time.
Make plans on how to better their communication needs. Find out what kind of equipment they will be using, and then find out if there should be communications with it. If the activity will be over a wide area, be sure to have radio operators that can cover the complete area, don't leave any "dead spots". Dead spots are areas where communications personnel are not able to see what is going on and will not be able to report on it.
Dead Spots may be the place that emergency communications are needed and won't get reported. Those in charge of the event may want to know what is going on, and you may not be able to give them an answer. The better you make your communications look, the more the officials will rely on your opinions and suggestions.
(Idea for this bulletin from Kevin Harris, KC8OXY)
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV