BEECN Program Organization: Difference between revisions
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In the event of a major earthquake in Portland, the communications systems that Portlanders rely on are unlikely to function. Cell phones, land lines, texting, and internet service are not resilient enough to endure the damage anticipated from a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. Therefore, a major earthquake means that residents in Portland neighborhoods will find it difficult, if not impossible, to receive information and request help from local government in the aftermath. | |||
Damaged roads and infrastructure will also cut off many Portland neighborhoods from emergency responders. A Basic Earthquake Emergency Communications Node (BEECN) is a place to go in Portland neighborhoods after a major earthquake to ask for emergency assistance, or to report severe damage or injury. BEECNs rely on the amateur radio system (“HAM”), a relatively durable communications system, to help neighborhoods and local government reach each other. In the aftermath of an earthquake, volunteers or city employees will proceed to one of 50 BEECN sites spread throughout the city. Each BEECN has an equipment cache associated with it which the volunteers will deploy. BEECN volunteers use a handheld radio in the cache to talk with an amateur radio operator at the nearest fire station who will relay those messages to the city’s Emergency Coordination Center (ECC). Message traffic is intended to be two-way. This means that the ECC can send response and resource information to neighborhoods through BEECNs, while neighborhoods can talk with local government to report damage or injuries and request help. Portlanders should not think of a BEECN as a place where people will find emergency supplies or resources, nor should they consider it a staging area for medical professionals and emergency medical services. BEECNs are intended as communication points only. | |||
Above all else, the BEECN program relies on the help of volunteers to succeed. Volunteers and community partners keep the BEECN caches secure, periodically test the equipment, offer program feedback to PBEM, and will be the neighbors their communities rely on to help facilitate effective communication following an earthquake. | |||
=== 000.10 BEECN and PBEM === | === 000.10 BEECN and PBEM === | ||
a. The BEECN program is sited in, supervised and managed by PBEM with participation from Portland Fire & Rescue. | a. The BEECN program is sited in, supervised and managed by PBEM with participation from Portland Fire & Rescue. | ||
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b. PBEM has sole authority to determine BEECN volunteer membership and who is responsible for maintaining and deploying a BEECN. | b. PBEM has sole authority to determine BEECN volunteer membership and who is responsible for maintaining and deploying a BEECN. | ||
c. When activated, BEECN volunteers defer to the authority of any present emergency response personnel (such as police, fire, or EMS personnel); members of the military; emergency managers associated with a City of Portland bureau (e.g. the Portland Water Bureau); or staff from PBEM. | |||
c. When activated, BEECN volunteers defer to the authority of any present emergency response personnel (such as police, fire, or EMS personnel); members of the military; emergency managers | |||
associated with a City of Portland bureau (e.g. the Portland Water Bureau); or staff from PBEM. | |||
d. The PBEM Bureau Director may delegate responsibilities for the BEECN program to a designee (in most cases, the BEECN Coordinator). | d. The PBEM Bureau Director may delegate responsibilities for the BEECN program to a designee (in most cases, the BEECN Coordinator). | ||
