Donut Dispatch

Here at Krispy Creme Dispatch Central, we coordinate the donuts of the world!!

Actually, in the background are the information screens in our dispatch center of CARE Ambulance.

CARE Ambulance

I'm happy that I was hired with CARE Ambulance last week and have been in training as a dispatcher.

Last week I went on some ride-alongs which were fun.
There's lots to learn in the office and lots of details, but I'm enjoying it.

Red Cross Chapter Driver Training

Today I took a class at the Red Cross to learn how to operate their vehicles during activities.

The chapter has vans and trailers, a canteen vehicle for feeding, and an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) that's mostly used for national deployments.

We learned how to open up the canteen vehicle to prepare to serve food. We saw the warehouse where they store supplies, and we drove the vehicles around the block.

5th Red Cross DAT Call

My phone rang around 1am for a DAT call in Brea.

Myself and Austin Miller responded to an RV fire in a parking lot of a shopping center.

The client was starting the vehicle and he heard a noise and opened the hood and a fire had started which soon engulfed the RV.

It was unfortunate that he had lost the 'home' that he had. I hope we'll be able to find him another place to live.

I'll be back at the chapter in a few hours for a scheduled Chapter Driving Class, but back to bed!

Vehicle fire on I-5 at Culver

In the distance I saw a plume of smoke on the highway, and as I got closer, the fire department had quickly extinguished the car fire.

A OCFA twitter said that 4 patients were treated for burns. I wonder how it started and if they extent of the burns.

I saw the passengers sitting off the side of the freeway talking to the FD.

EOC Tour to Newport Beach RACES

On Wednesday this past week I helped give a tour of the Orange County Emergency Operations Center and RACES Room to members of the Newport Beach RACES unit and Nerport Beach CERT team, with my friend Randy Benicky of OCRACES.

Randy is a retired deputy and a former Control One supervisor, and he gave many interesting facts about the center.

This was the third tour I've spoken on, much to the appreciation of Ken Bourne. I'm hoping our tours can be developed into a formal training outline, but I think that's up to me!

Net Control from a cafe

Helping out OCRACES today on a Red Flag Patrol - its definitely more comfortable to be in an air-conditioned cafe at a table with my laptop than in my hot car!

Setting up two portables with mics and connecting them to a left-right earphone splitter works pretty well.

A fireproof home

Yesterday on fire patrol we stopped by the side of the road and talked to a construction worker; they were rebuilding a home that was burned down two years ago in the Santiago Fire of '07.

What's interesting is that all the walls are made of concrete and structural steel, from 10 to 16 inches thick! And there's a fire-lookout room on top with windows all around! The concrete-made stones used for decorative siding have heat-resistant properties too.

Now that sounds more fire-proof!

At Red Cross EOC for SONGS Graded Exercise

This morning I helped out with the Orange County Red Cross for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) graded exercise.

This was a drill simulating an emergency event, training how the Red Cross would respond.

I sat at the radio desk monitoring traffic and keeping a log.

Red Flag Warning prompts OCRACES Fire Patrols

A local Red Flag Warning starts tomorrow thru Thursday, and the OCRACES group will activate and perform our fire patrols.

We'll focus on Patrol Areas 2 & 3, Santiago Cyn areas and the Ortega Hwy. At a previous training, OCFA advised there was active arsonist activity in those areas.

Beginner's HF Rig Installed

I finished installing and tuning ny first HF rig, after many trips to the hardware and radio stores for parts and advice.

I found that the dipole antenna works best when strung out straight - 'flat-top' it is called (see roof picture); the automatic tuner seems pretty picky but has tight tollerances.

I've heard contacts across the nation and made my first brief contact yesterday from Missouri

Hopefully the rig will give me much good use.

Bendix King radio for command post response

I just received a Bendix King VHF radio (from Ebay) that I got programmed with the fire frequencies OC uses. It is quite well-built and feels like a brick - long and heavy!

I plan to use it when responding to fire command posts for comms support work with RACES.


And what timing - just last night a small fire started:

From an email -
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"A new fire started last night in the Orange County area.  This fire is known as the Ortega Incident and is based on the Ortega 7 miles west of El Cariso Village.  At this time the fire has burned 25 acres and has 0% containment.  The Orange County EOC is not activated at this time.  There have been no requests for Communications Division support at this time."

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Website launched! ... barely

I finally published an initial website, www.ocradios.com - just a cover page.

I really didn't like the rudimentary template that was offered (yuck), but I have a big learning curve to get over to design it so its both functional and attractive.

Heatwave and Fires in OC this week

This week we had a heatwave in the Southland and some fires broke out. All the activity is definitly increasing our mental readiness stance.

Excerpts from the news:

"Flames are chasing residents from homes as four Southern California wildfires rage untamed this morning.‬ ‪A heat wave with triple digit temperatures and single digit humidity levels are adding to the misery of firefighters already coping with steep terrain and dense thickets of bush and brush.‬ ‪
More than 3,200 acres has burned since Tuesday.‬ ‪

The Rancho Palos Verdes fire erupted last night and quickly spread, damaging three homes and several garages and outbuildings. But firefighters managed to keep it from expanding overnight.‬ ‪The 100-acre blaze is 35 percent contained.‬ ‪

The fire near La Canada Flintridge began to kick up again yesterday afternoon, a day after it began in the Angeles National Forest. It has now burned 1,500 acres and is about 10 percent contained.‬ ‪

To the east, another fire in the San Gabriel Mountains is 60 percent contained with 2,000 acres burned in the past four days.‬ ‪

To the west in Riverside County, another wildfire has blackened 600 acres and authorities have urged residents of 12 homes near Hemet to leave.‬ ‪

Farther north in Monterey County, 100 homes were evacuated about four miles from the community of Soledad. The fire burned more than 2,000 acres of steep grasslands.‬"

Hurricane Bill off the East Coast

For the past week I was watching Hurricane Bill, this season's first hurricane, approach the US and turn north staying off the eastern coast, now heading north-northeast to pass Canada.

It looked very big on the satellite photos. I wonder if there are more to come...

Helping at Red Cross SONGS Drill

Today I helped out at the Red Cross EOC during an annual SONGS (San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station) Drill.

It was more of a training session for such a scenario, educating those working in the EOC of how thing would run and what duties to perform.

I think its good and necessary to participate in the drills to start thinking through how to respond to such events.
It was also good to see other chapter staff that I'm getting to know.

4th Red Cross DAT Call

After watching a good 'guy' movie (The Hurt Locker)(about a bomb squad in Iraq) with my friend Brian, I got a DAT call walking out of the theater - perfect timing!

Evidently there was a small kitchen fire in an apartment in Buena Park. The resident quickly got out with the kids, and a neighbor put it out with a fire extinguisher then the FD arrived. Family put up in a hotel overnight due to extinguisher residue in air and electricity turned off, but can return tomorrow.

Nice ending to a movie night!

Red Cross opens shelter from Westminister gas leak

I was at a Disaster Action Team (DAT) meeting tonight and we were conveniently called to open a shelter in Westminister.

Evidentally, earlier in the day a 16 inch natural gas line was hit during construction on Goldenwest street. Responders said the sound was deafening.

By 9:15 a temporary cap was placed on the break. By 11 PM the cap still leaked slightly and would be permanently fixed in 4 or 5 hours.

The evacuated families went to relatives or other places and did not come to the shelter, but it was a good practice for us.
We closed the shelter at midnight.

Youth Camp 2009

Well its already Thursday here at Youth Camp and I'm lovin it!

Monday was a whirlwind of arriving cars, busses and kids; Tuesday a first full day of activities (tired); Wednesday in the groove; Thursday anticipating the Great Water War this evening.

My nickname is now MacGruber for having that random superglue at the opportune time, bringing crazy water guns, creating a dozen water battle shields from trips to the hardware store for snow sled dishes and rope, etc.

More importantly, I'm very impacted by all the love and activities poured into the almost 350 kids here. Evening band concerts and messages are great, all the sports activities bring kids running around and squealing with joy.

Our "Manhunt" game the other night had kids AND counselors huffing & puffing after 10 minutes and 45 patients to the infirmary for scrapes, twists and stinging nettles - what a success!

So many fun times!

Bike Patrol at La Palma Run for Fun

Today I helped out on a bike patrol for the City of LaPalma.

Ham radio people were posted along the course route calling in the progress.

I used the opportunity to check up on my bike and test using my radio harness.

My friend Larry Tischauer, said those radios positioned so would affect my heart! Well, I won't transmit too much then!

Amateur Field Day

I attended my RACES 2009 Field Day operations at Craig Park today.

Made contacts with stations in Colorado and Alaska, with the help of my friend Brian Turner who wants to join RACES also.

It was fun actually making a live distant contact after upgrading my license.

H2O Gun Configured

Finished watergun setup with reservoir in Alice backpack, and gun shoulder strap.

Shoots a 1 second torrent of water 30 feet.

Tt

Homemade H2O Gun - the Instrument of Justice

I just finished construction on an air-pressure homemade (APH) water gun, from a design posted on the internet by water warrior enthusiasts, who boast of its superior power - greater than the infamous SuperSoaker CPS 2000.

This obsession for a more powerful water gun was spurred on by my preparations for attending Youth Camp in a couple weeks, where water skirmishes occur daily and the Great War happens on a Thursday - 300 kids against 30 staff (and I'm on staff!).

To explain the design (see picture), water from a resevoir is drawn in the lower right barb through the first one-way 'check' valve by pulling out the plunger along the bottom, then pushed up through the second check valve when the plunger is pushed in. The two check valves are integral to this design and the basis of many SuperSoakers.

The water enters the black pressure chambers on top with subsequent pumps and pressure builds. When ready, the ball-valve at top left is opened and pressurized water jets out the final nozzel at the end of the pipe.

Next is field testing! If web claims are correct, it may prove to be the most powerful gun on the battlefield!

3rd DAT Call - Kitchen Fire

My next DAT call came when I was meeting my friend for breakfast this morning.

There was a fire in the kitchen of the residence. The family said they had just left their house and one of the daughters thought she forgot something and they went back.

The kitchen was gutted. Luckilly they had insurance to cover the loss. The bedrooms were relatively undamaged; washing clothes and linens should help.

2nd DAT Call - Mobile Home Fire

Tonight I was attending a Red Cross Communications meeting at the Chapter office, and a DAT call came in. Myself and Ray Heaney were Disaster Action Team(DAT) members and were called to respond.

We came to the incident of the mobile home fire, which happened earlier in the day around noon. The client was going to cook on the stove and put oil in the pan, then stepped outside to take a cellphone call. She heard crackling and came in to find the stovetop engulfed in fire. She tried using the home phone but fire must have melted the line. She grabbed her purse and got out the front door, and her neighbor called for help.

When I looked at the remains tonight, I saw the unit was completely destroyed, the home gutted, blackened walls and charred remnants of furnishings. An empty shell. All that remained of the 50" LCD TV was a stiff upright backboard. So sad.

I tried to relate and make a connection with the client, and related how my father went through similar medical conditions as she had. She shared how she loved to read and had 500 books. She grows and sells fruit and sends money back to her home country to help the poor.

We finished up paperwork at a nearby Starbucks and chatted.
My senior partner, Ray, has been on the DAT team for 8 years and has responded to an amazing 114 calls! He shared that one time there was a house with four rooms with 7 people in each room - and they all spoke Spanish!

Passed the General Class license test

Yay - I passed the test to upgrade my amateur radio license from Technician to the General level!

Now I have priviledges to operate on the worldwide high frequency bands. If I only had $1000 for all the gear! (But how much would I use it to actually get on the air?)
Met some interesting people in the class whom I may network with later.

The photo shows myself and Gordon West, the class teacher. 'Gordo' is a great teacher - funny, informative, lively; I recommend taking his classes to get a license. You can't help but get interested by his enthusiasm.
TT

My first Red Cross DAT Call

I wondered who would be calling when my phone rang at 3:42 AM, and it was for the Red Cross Disaster Action Team.

I was dispatched to go help some families at a residential fire near Westminister. It was still dark when I pulled up, seeing the fire truck's floodlights illuminating the street and hearing the hum of the engines.
I met my field supervisor and then the fire captain escorted us on the damage assessment tour. I was suprised how gentle and polite all the firemen were. What heros. We walked around the house; holes were cut in the ceilings of all the rooms to search for fire. The room where the fire started had major damage - its walls were blackened and everything was charred and messy. I made a mental note: Check for fire hazards at home! We walked thru sooty puddles of water.

The husband said that he woke from the smoke and it was hard to breathe. He saw the fire and tried to put it out but it was too much and he jumped out the window with his wife and woke others and called for help.

It was daylight by the time we had finished the paperwork.
Both us responders and the families we helped were grateful for each other. Things like background, language, ethnicity, social status - none of this mattered - meeting the humanitarian needs bonded us together.

Though I'll be tired later, it was a great way to start the morning.

Wildfire in Joshua Tree

So I even see some excitement while on vacation!

Sunday around 4:00 PM we saw smoke to the Southeast from behind a low mountain. (See picture). We figured it may have started around 3:00 PM. Then at 5:00 PM I saw a Fire Huey fly over.

I pulled out my scanner and started scanning the Air frequencies. I heard air traffic controllers, then some chatter on 122.5750. That was the air tactical frequency for the fire.

I heard the air boss coordinate two tankers doing drops. High winds near the ground. They were refueling in Hemet.

TT

Joshua Tree trip

I went with some friends to Joshua Tree, and we had a good time. We stayed at the employee campground reserved by my friends mom.

The weather was especially nice. It wasn't too hot during the day, and the breeze was nice. It got very windy in the late afternoon lasting into the night.

And the stars were beautiful at night. We saw satellites pass overhead and some shooting stars.

5.0 Los Angeles quake felt as far as San Diego

== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==

***This event has been revised.


Region: GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIF.
Geographic coordinates: 33.940N, 118.337W
Magnitude: 5.0 Ml
Depth: 13 km
Universal Time (UTC): 18 May 2009 03:39:36
Time near the Epicenter: 17 May 2009 20:39:36
Local standard time in your area: 18 May 2009 03:39:36

Location with respect to nearby cities:
2 km (1 miles) E (91 degrees) of Lennox, CA
2 km (1 miles) SSE (157 degrees) of Inglewood, CA
3 km (2 miles) NNE (23 degrees) of Hawthorne, CA
15 km (10 miles) SSW (213 degrees) of Los Angeles Civic Center, CA


ADDITIONAL EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
________________________________
event ID : CI 10410337

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist
For subsequent updates, maps, and technical information, see:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/ci10410337.php
or
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

CISN Southern California Management Center
Caltech Seismological Laboratory
U.S. Geological Survey

http://www.cisn.org/scmc.html

Trying out Twitter

I signed up for Twitter to see if it will be helpful for current news updates pertaining to responder activities.

My URL is:
http://twitter.com/ttadventure

However, I'm not sure how often (if at all) I will be posting my personal updates there, since there are so many social networks to keep up on.

I am following the LA County Fire Department's tweet blog, since they post many calls and it was helpful to follow during the past wildfire seasons.

Product Review: Radio Chest Harness

I recently received a new radio chest harness in the mail, ordering one after seeing other workers use them on deployments - the Coaxsher RCP-1 Pro Radio Chest Harness.

I'm impressed with its design, functionality and durability. It fits well, and has accessories thar are well thought-out.

I recommend every serious Responder get one.

Can't wait to use it on the next call-out!


DESCRIPTION:

Unparallel in design and workmanship the RCP-1 Pro radio chest harness comes loaded with all the bells and whistles.
Perfected over time from customers feedback to become the most comfortable and functional radio chest harness anyone can wear.  

FEATURES

• Large Wide-Mouth Zipper Close Main Pocket

• Fold-Down Platform for Reading/Writing

• Open Air Back Plate Cuts Weight and Allows Airflow

• Adjustable Radio / Cell Phone / GPS Holder

• Writing Tool Pockets

• Main Radio Holster—Adjust to Fit Multiple Radio Sizes

• Kestrel Weather Meter / Misc. Pocket

• Spare Battery Shell / Cell Phone Pocket

• Hi-Strength Grommets / D-Ring to Secure Extra Gear

• Great Visibility - Reflective Material & Glow Stick Holder

• Removable Mod-u-Lox C-Clip Holds Mini Mag Lite®

• Lifetime Warranty

Four small YL Quakes Prompt Readiness

Excerpt from The Orange County Register:

YORBA LINDA – Another small quake shook Yorba Linda this morning at 5:24. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 1.7 earthquake shook just two miles northeast from Yorba Linda. There were no reports of damage.

The shaking was an echo of the four notable earthquakes that occurred in the Chino Hills area Thursday night, just north of Yorba Linda, greatly accelerating a swarm that was called "curious" and "unusual" last week by one of Southern California's top seismologists. The latest shakers Thursday came at 8:27 p.m., when a 4.0 quake occurred, followed one minute later by a 3.0 in basically the same spot. And there was a 2.5 quake at 9:04 p.m.

The shaking began at 4:56 p.m., with a 3.8 quake. It's unusual for a smaller quake to be followed by a second quake slightly larger in magnitude. However, seismologists say such things happen, and it doesn't  necessarily mean that a much larger event is imminent.

All three quakes occurred in a region that's had a "swarm" of quakes since early March. The quakes are also close to the area of the Chino Hills – the so-called Yorba Linda trend – that produced a 5.4 quake last July. The region is close to the Chino and Elsinore fault zones.

-----------------
Personal note - Red Cross conducted roll calls on the CLARA repeater, and I texted with Brian T. about the event.

That night I refilled my gas tank, recharged a redundant portable battery and filled up a couple jugs in the garage with water. However, The Big One didn't happen the next morning. ;-(

Super-CPR Day Comms Help

I helped at the "Super CPR Day" with the Orange County Red Cross today, held at the Anaheim Stadium.
An estimated 2000 people will attend the event and get certified in Adult CPR and Basic First Aid for about $5 per class.
Our 'Comms' group provided radio coordination among the different stations and functions from early morning to early afternoon.

Psychological First Aid Class

I took a very interesting and informative Red Cross class on Psychological First Aid, which is "the practice of recognizing and responding to people who need help because they are feeling stress, resulting from the disaster situations within which they find themselves."

Stress Reactions include a wide range of feelings, thoughts, physical effects, behaviors, and spiritual responses in both adults and children.

First Aid Actions include: making a connection, helping people be safe, being kind calm & compassionate, meeting basic needs, listening, giving realistic assurance, encouraging good coping, helping people connect, giving accurate & timely information, making a DMH referral, ending the conversation, and taking care of yourself.

TT

Leisa Hurst Search #3

Today another group search was conducted for missing Leisa Ann Hurst.
The meeting point was in the Silverlakes community in Helendale. Pictured here is the group of volunteers at the morning briefing. There is a manmade lake in the background.
I was grateful another large turnout of people showed up. There were ATVs and footsearchers. By early afternoon it got hot in the desert and the sun beat down strongly.
I talked with volunteers from the US Forest Service Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) group, and learned they have green cloth 'skins' on their helmets with the yellow forest service logo, so that helicopters in the air can recognize friendlys instead of illegal riders on trails.

"48 Hours" crew came to film

I was suprised to hear a film crew from the TV documentary show "48 Hours" would be at the search to get footage for a story. Cameramen got shots of organizing the command post, the morning briefing, the launch of the UAV drone, interviews with the family, and a grid search in the field.
The producer, Judy, said she probably would never know exactly when it would be aired, but probably sometime in the fall.

Silver Lakes CP Comms

I helped setup and run communications for this third group ground search for Leisa Hurst.
My friend Brian Turner helped me out setup and run comms in the morning. Brian recently passed his Technician Class exam and is waiting for his license in the mail.
Many thanks also to my friend Scott Byington from my OCRACES group who loaned me a great performing antenna, mast poles, and coax line.

The Faithful Leaders

Pictured here is Mike Lopez, left, with Emergency Ministry Services, who often runs Operations for the searches, and Mike Melson, right, founder of Trinity Search and Recovery, who organizes, manages and runs searches for missing people with his wife Bridget.
Through these searches we're becoming good friends.

How does he fit it all?!

Yes, I know I need a better vehicle for these deployments.
This trip the Camry took a beating! On the way out to setup the antenna, I almost got bogged down in sand going up a hill, and did a ralley jump over a burm to get back on the main graded dirt road! My friend said when I went over my back end caught air.

Later in the field I DID get stuck and needed a pull-out from a bigger truck. Back at the command post when I sheepishly radioed in that I got stuck, everybody cracked up!

Aw, after that, the sides of my car are all scratched up now from the sticky brush.

On-Scene Communications gets branded

Now that I have a new company logo, I feel like my business is picking up momentum.  There is still lots of administrative work to do.  I ordered nameplates to wear when I go out on jobs, and I have a couple of gigs lined up for later this year.

Vision Quest Mountain Bike Race - Communications Support

Here, showing off my new high-visibility reflectorized ‘communications’ vest, I helped a couple comm guys set up the OCRACES communications van at O’Neil Regional Park for a 52-mile mountain bike race for the Warrior’s Society, a local mountain-bike club.