PSC parking for tomorrow

They will be painting parking stripes in the PSC visitor parking area tomorrow. If you are participating in the SET deployment you will need to park in the employee parking.

1 Go Past Charlie Meeks Blvd to end of CulDeSac
2 Turn right on driveway heading north
3 Go to end of drive and park.

Talk In: use the WCARES repeater for talk in if needed.
Alternative contact the EC Jeff Schwartz by phone at 860-235-5030

Please read the below information carefully for instructions relating to the SET Exercise. You may download a copy of the instructions here.

There are three ways for you to participate in the SET:

1 Come to the Williamson County Public Safety Building Saturday morning at 07:00 and participate in person. No need to register or sign up.
2 As a mobile station.
3 Check In to the SET from your home.

Mobile Stations – You will drive to different communities (e.g. Franklin, Fairview, Nolensville, etc.) and give Command Net Control your name, call sign, location and a weather report. Please visit as many communities as you can and check in with Command at each stop. The exercise net will be opened at 08:00 for mobile station check-in and will be asked to secure at 10:00.
Home Stations – The net will open up at 10:30 for check-in by those operating from home. Please provide your name, call sign, location, and a weather report to Command.

*** REMEMBER TO BEGIN AND END ALL MESSAGES WITH “THIS IS AN EXERCISE”***

2024 SET SIT REP
THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE

Friday November 1st 2024
Williamson County and its surrounding areas have been affected by the remnants of Hurricane Jeffrey, which moved through as a Tropical Depression on Thursday night. Reports indicate that high winds have damaged cell towers and caused numerous trees and power lines to fall. Flooding risks are also increasing, with the Cumberland, Duck, and Harpeth rivers approaching record flood levels. The combination of flooding and high winds has led to widespread outages of cell phone networks and most internet service providers in the county.

Williamson County EMA (WCEMA) has asked WCARES for assistance. Our activity begins on November 2nd at 09:00, when we will establish communications at several WCEMA-selected sites. WCARES will collaborate with WCEMA staff to create a vital link between these locations and the Williamson County Emergency Operations Center. We will be among the first teams deployed to ensure reliable communications are set up quickly before WCEMA sends assets to the affected areas.

Please report to the Williamson County Public Safety Building at 07:00 on Saturday morning, November 2nd, for more information and to receive your assignments. Be prepared for a six-hour deployment and ensure you are fully self-sufficient, as the sites will lack public utilities and cell/internet service. WCEMA is working to provide generator power at each site, but those generators have not yet been deployed.

THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE
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***Be sure to have a copy of the WCARES Emergency Operations Plan with you***

*** REMEMBER TO BEGIN AND END ALL MESSAGES WITH “THIS IS AN EXERCISE”***

From Jeff, KC1DWP:

Our 2022 SET demonstrated that WCARES has the skills, depth, and commitment to serve our community in a time of need when communication support is necessary. During the SET exercise, 8 mobile radio operators connected 10 Emergency Response partners from multiple municipal agencies to the Williamson County ECOMM 911 center. This was an important first step demonstrating proof of concept in the development of the procedures and application of technology to provide continuity of communication in the event of a catastrophic Public Safety radio system outage.

Three simulated shelters were activated in response to a simulated flood event. Seven radio operators established stand alone radio operations at the three sites using their own power and radio equipment to provide vital status reports back to Net control and the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency.

Seven radio operators comprised the Net Control Team utilizing multiple modes, including the WCARES repeater system and back-up repeater, DMR and Winlink to manage communications from the 3 shelters, the 10 emergency response partners, and other participating WCARES members providing requested information regarding shelter status, weather and flood conditions as well as the status of public utilities. Vital information was able to be obtained from field sources and provided to the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service.