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 | Heroes & Helpers - Part III |
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Here are more people who need to be recognized:
Janice Rock, KF4PVR These three folks, all members of ALERT, heard the desperate situation unfolding on the 147.140 MHz repeater moments after the tornado had struck. They travelled to the disaster site to help rescue victims and render aid (Janice and Joel are Emergency Medical Technicians-Intermediate, and Ricky is an EMT Basic). The next several hours were spent in awful conditions, Janice says. Chaos, despair, confusion and danger all reigned as these three tried to render aid to people in need. They helped carry a man with a head injury nearly a quarter of a mile through a thicket of fallen trees to an ambulance. Since no stretchers were available (fire/rescue personnel hadn't even arrived at the area they were in to begin with), the three found a front door on the ground and used it to carry the victim. Danger was all around--from fallen power lines, trees and other debris to the strong smell of leaking natural gas. Janice went around warning people to blow out candles they had lit in an effort to see. You can hear a chilling account of Janice's experience from that night on ALERT's web site. "When someone screams, 'we've got people who are hurt' and we don't know when help is going to be there and you couldn't get any idea, that's why we decided to go over there," Janice says. "You can't turn down something like that. You've got to go." Janice, Joel and Ricky could have sat around and done nothing. Instead, they risked their own safety to help people they don't even know, but that they knew were in trouble. I think these three are heroes. Mark Parmley, WA4UHC Being a victim of this tragedy is enough to keep you busy for a long time without giving thought to anything else. But, despite being in that position, Mark, whose Edgewater house was damaged in the storm, and who has plenty to worry about right now, was thinking of others who need help more than he did by offering the use of the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club's generator to anyone who needed it. Bill Heaton, KE4FBH In this day and age, you'd never think something as simple as having food to eat would be a problem, but it was for victims of the tornado. Bill spent time helping deliver basic food rations like crackers and water to people in some of the hardest hit areas. On the evening I spoke with him, Bill said some storm victims hadn't eaten all day. Bill's efforts at the disaster scene followed the time he spent helping operate Skywarn Nets at the NWS. On-air hams who turned in reports and who monitored - Unfortunately, there's just no way to name everyone who helped in some way. But our Net Controls report scores of good reports from radio amateurs throughout Birmingham and much of the rest of the state. And there were some hams who were extremely valuable by, believe it or not, not saying a word. That's right. They were standing by, monitoring, ready to submit an important report if anything happened. But they also realized the importance of staying off the air unless they had information truly relevant to the needs at the time. We can't say enough good about those hams who recognize the need to keep frequencies clear of non-essential communications. These people really make a difference in our efforts! Brian Peters, WD4EPR Everyone in ALERT knows Brian well from his frequent attendance at our monthly meetings. In addition to serving as the Weather Service's Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Brian also acts as the agency's amateur radio liaison. Brian keeps in contact with ALERT and other emergency communications groups across Alabama regularly. In short, he does everything he can to help hams in their efforts to assist the NWS. If there's a need ALERT has, Brian does his best to try and meet it. He's always trying to help us solve problems, and he's constantly coming up with ideas for new approaches and enhancements to make our operations smoother. Yes, you could say Brian is just doing his job--after all, he is paid to work with us. But the fact is that he goes far and above what he has to do in working with hams as well as performing his regular WCM duties. In whatever he does, Brian shows tremendous dedication. I think it's called caring about what you do and wanting to do the best job you can. Whether they realize it or not, the people of Alabama, and ALERT in particular, are very lucky to have Brian working on their behalf. Cahaba Internet This web hosting and design firm, run by Bill Levey, WA4FAT, has been doing a great service for hams everywhere by helping keep them up to date on amateur radio's role in the tornado's aftermath. CI maintains ALERT's new web site as a service to the amateur radio community. In addition to that, Bill has spent many hours (weekends included) making sure the site is current, so that the very latest in news on this awesome tragedy is available to the rest of the world. Bill is also helping ALERT obtain its own domain. These are only some of the people I know about as of this writing. I hope I haven't missed other amateur radio operators who have played prominent roles in the April 8th tornado. If so, I apologize. Every effort was made to recognize all the groups that submitted information to ALERT. Additional updates on amateur participation will be issued if needed. In closing, I'd simply like to say that--in the wake of this awful tragedy--ALERT members and other amateur radio operators found themselves faced with a huge challenge, and they met it by making themselves available to assist in many different ways. Whether helping with field spotting, Net Control services, on-scene assistance or any of the many other roles and tasks where assistance was required (including just being available if needed)...whether you are a member of ALERT or some other amateur radio emergency communications organization...I want to say that I am really proud to be associated with this fine group of people. Please know that you helped make a difference by being available. And for that, many, many people are thankful. 73,
David Black, KB4KCH |