Radio Traffic

Radio Traffic Reporting Priorities

As much as possible volunteers should keep radio traffic minimal and avoid transmitting nonessential radio traffic. Members of the public will have many different purposes for relaying messages through the BEECN network. If messages compete for priority, volunteers should use the rubric below to decide which messages get relayed soonest:

PRIORITY		Explanation
1	Scene Stabilization HIGHEST	Equivalent to a 9-1-1 call. Radio traffic concerning major incidents that are causing/threatening to cause widespread casualties and property damage. This can include large and spreading fires, stopping hazardous material leaks, de-energizing electric lines and shutting off gas lines. This information should interrupt all other radio traffic.
2	Life Safety	Equivalent to a 9-1-1 call. Radio traffic reporting injuries of imminent threat to the life of a survivor or survivors.
3	Damage Assessments and Casualty Reports	Members of the public reporting significant damage to property and infrastructure, or reports of injuries and casualties.
4	Government Employee Check-in	Government employees may use the BEECN system to check in with their employers via the EOC. If necessary there are “Post Earthquake Employee Check In” forms included in the loose leaf notebook in each BEECN cache.
5	Person Location	This is a request from someone to help find a missing loved one. BEECN volunteers can direct people to resources but will not facilitate reunification of families, house mates or loved ones.
6	All Other Traffic LOWEST	Any traffic that does not fall into the above categories. As a general rule, no traffic other than the above should go over the BEECN system. However, this rubric cannot predict all situations and PBEM expects BEECN volunteers to execute appropriate judgement whether the content of a message justifies reporting it to the EOC.