Very nice clyde. As a member of ARES and RACES I have several kits ready 24/7. They all as mentioned in the PDF are available at a moments notice and each one is as mentioned for a specific type of disaster and length of duty.
I was call-up as reserve to be ready to head south after the quake but there were plenty of reserves ready that were closer. I have been dispatched 4 times since 1994, a huge fog related pile-up on I-5 where I was dispatched out to the scene but was re-routed to UMC to utilize my EMT status to triage pateints on the front lawn of the hospital. Floods in the late 90's were another dispatch and a few smaller crashes involving 5-15 vehicles. We work very closely with CHP, sheriff and local PD's and myself having been involved with SAR through the Fresno counties rescue group (jeep Team). It takes alot of knowledge and preparation to think of all the situations you may be subjected to during a disaster. My newest venture is with CERT, Clovis Emergency Responce Team. THis has been a great educational experience as telephone companies, PG&E and many other agencies teach us all sorts of very important aspects of a disaster then our clubs have seminars to teach others like neighborhood watch members as well as other hams the important points of whats first to do in any disaster when faced with the protection of the public.
There is so much on that list that it takes as much volunteer manpower as it does actual agency members to get things organized and accomplished.
I think that PDF would be a great addition to add in one of the forums somewhere to get people to think of how important it is to have a go pack prepared even if your not a ham. If you have comms and the neccessary gear to maintain yourself in a disaster you can quickly become a great asset to your communitty and I guarantee fire and PD will find a place for you.
Our ARES and EMCOMM drills and training material as well as the State OES handbooks follow the same guidelines as whats in that PDF.
I hope for you and your family that all is well and having you as a ham member is a great plus to the hobby as well as for your community. volunteers are the grease that keeps the gears turning and I have seen first hand how quickly things can go bad when PD's, fire and other agencies systems can become overwhelmed.
Here in Fresno County ARES, RACES and EMCOMM are moving into the digital world with FLDigi and FLMessage. I have years of packet and APRS experience and really love this FL stuff but am still working on an advanced mobile package for a command center type setup using the new FL softwares. The cooperartion between counties fire and law enforcement as well as ham clubs has been getting better to standardise what is used within the EMCOMM and OES organizations to insure when something serious happens everyone will be on the same page as everyone else.
Thanks for sharing it.
