[Harc] Fwd: Ham Radio to the Rescue Again!

[Frank Bacik]

Randy.
Congratulations, well done and clearly summarized so we can learn so much
from the events. Thanks for the follow-up.
...demonstrates the value of maximizing coordinate connection, from
something as simple as scanning traffic on seldom used, marginal signal
repeaters to intertie /patch with formal first responders.

Thanks again
Frank Bacik
KN6FGU

On Thu, Sep 5, 2024, 6:55 AM kg6jaz via Harc <
harc at reflector.humboldt-arc.org> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> Sent from my Galaxy Tab® S2
>
> -------- Original message --------
> From: Terra Tech via Harc <harc at reflector.humboldt-arc.org>
> Date: 9/4/24 8:35 PM (GMT-08:00)
> To: harc at reflector.humboldt-arc.org
> Subject: [Harc] Ham Radio to the Rescue Again!
>
> Hey HARC folks,
>
> I had a very interesting and satisfying experience with amateur radio
> today. I work from home and continually have my Icom 2730 scanning all the
> local ham repeaters including those in Del Norte County. From my QTH up
> near the water tower in Eureka I can get into the DNARC repeater in
> Crescent City and have the occasional QSO with folks up that way. Today I
> had a strange one!
>
> At around 4:00pm I heard a scratchy call for help. The operator was
> calling out SOS and asking for anyone to come back to them. They sounded
> pretty stressed. I hopped on the radio and tried to contact the person. I
> could only make out about half of what the person was saying but apparently
> the person had fallen and could not get up. The ham said their call was
> good on QRZ and after I finally got a copy on it I looked them up and
> called 911. (I think this is the first time I have ever called 911!) The
> 911 operator patched me up to the Del Norte Sheriff's office who dispatched
> an ambulance and then transfered me over to the ambulance dispatcher. It
> was unusual to be placing an emergency call on behalf of someone who I did
> not know who was in a place 90 miles away from me while using two forms of
> voice communication.
>
> I was at times trying to get more details from the fallen ham on the radio
> to relay to the emergency services people while also trying to talk on the
> phone to those services. A ham in Medford also came to my assistance to try
> and suggest helpful information to gather from the ham in need. Two other
> hams (one was Christie WA6ZDO) in the Crescent City area also got on the
> repeater to try and help out. After about 20 minutes from the initial
> distress call, the ham in need came back on air briefly to say the
> ambulance had arrived. A little while later Jaimie KJ6JKL (I believe the
> DNARC president) got on the repeater to say that the ham in need was on
> their way to the hospital and he thanked those who helped out in the
> situation.
>
> I have been reflecting on this experience for the past few hours and I
> feel really pleased that I was able to help in such a simple way. I do not
> know what the circumstances were that lead to this ham in Crescent City to
> be in such a vulnerable situation but it is great that they had I assume
> their HT near by. I feel like having my amateur radio license really did
> assist someone in an emergency (worth the cost and effort to study!) I also
> feel that the experience I have had participating in radio nets, contesting
> and other HARC activities helped me clearly communicate the necessary
> information to both the emergency services and the fallen ham
> simultaneously.
>
> Anyway, Jaye KE6SLS suggested I post this experience to the reflector as
> it demonstrates the "service" part of the Amateur Radio Service.
>
> 73!
>
> Randy KN6NSK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Harc mailing list
> Harc at reflector.humboldt-arc.org
>
> http://mail.reflector.humboldt-arc.org/mailman/listinfo/harc_reflector.humboldt-arc.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.reflector.humboldt-arc.org/pipermail/harc_reflector.humboldt-arc.org/attachments/20240905/b36f6ce0/attachment.htm>