The UCSF Police Department’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) unit is establishing an emergency communications team to be activated in the event of a campus emergency when normal forms of communication are down or reduced.
In case of a catastrophic natural disaster, such as an earthquake, it is likely that cell phones, land lines and Internet connections will be inoperable.
The UCSF emergency communications program will be established in the following phases:
• Phase One — Establish volunteers to join the team
• Phase Two — Identify equipment needs, based on team members’ radio knowledge and experience, and purchase equipment
• Phase Three — Develop emergency response job functions and checklists; set up team training by experienced emergency ham operators
• Phase Four — Establish call-out protocol
The HSEM unit is looking for any campus personnel who have a valid ham radio license and would like to participate in this program.
For those who don’t have a ham radio license, but would like to get one and be part of the team, the UCSF HSEM unit, in conjunction with the San Francisco Fire Department and the Bay Area Educational Amateur Radio Society, will be hosting a ham radio licensing study session.
Upon successful completion of the study session and final test, participating staff will be issued a Federal Communications Commission ham radio license and call sign, and then be eligible to broadcast over ham radio frequencies.
Any person interested in joining the UCSF emergency communications team should contact John Racine, emergency preparedness specialist, UCSF Police Department HSEM, by emailing him.
Team recruitment will be ongoing for the remainder of 2008 and maybe longer, depending on recruitment results.
The next ham radio study session is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008, in San Francisco at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Please go to the Bay Area Educational Amateur Radio Society website to register for the study session. There is a fee of $30. Unfortunately, there is no reimbursement for the fee. Those who attend this study session should indicate that they work for UCSF.
If you are registering for the ham radio study session with the desire to become a volunteer in the UCSF Emergency Preparedness Program, you will need to have supervisory approval. You can download the required authorization form from the UCSF Police Department emergency management website.
