How a government-supported repeater system can help GMRS radios save lives
In various places on this website, we discuss the wide breath of issues affecting tragic incidents and how policing, elected and community leaders can better prevent them. Preventable error, organizational learning, normalcy bias and preparedness mindsets, are just a few of the conceptual tools people interested in public safety should understand and either counter or adopt.
In developing a preparedness mindset, it is important to understand a few key concepts:
The normalcy of today is no guarantee of a calm and “normal” tomorrow;
Potentially tragic, unexpected events affect us deeply, because they are, well, unexpected. We almost never see them coming;
As any soldier, firefighter or police officer can tell you, real-time information is critical to situational awareness, and life-saving action; and,
Low-cost, easy to use General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios are available to everyone and provide a potentially life-saving information link to others in emergencies.
The following is an OpEd from the September 8, 2023 Redlands Community News (“GMRS radios could have saved lives in Lahaina - and they can save lives here”). This Southern California publication is located in San Bernardino County, California. The piece makes references to things in San Bernardino County, however, its commentary is applicable nationwide.
San Bernardino County is the largest county in the continental United States. It is geographically very diverse with large urban areas contiguous to Los Angeles County, the most populated national forest, in the country, and a very large expanse of desert that borders Arizona and Nevada. The County of San Bernardino has an expensive radio repeater network for its day-to-day and public safety operations. These facilities are frequently located on mountaintops that range in 5000-8000 feet in elevation. This is important for purposes of the GRS/Community self-sufficiency issue because these radios are line-of-sight technologies. Therefore, high elevation antenna/repeaters systems are crucial to dramatically increasing the range of radio communications.
The commentary makes reference to northern California’s Butte County, California and its community/governmental GMRS radio system response after the tragic Camp Fire that destroyed multiple mountain communities and resulted in scores of deaths. A good summary of their efforts can be found at the following YouTube link: https://youtu.be/aZiSC4sgKYw
GMRS radios could have saved lives in Lahaina – and they can save lives here.
The devastating fire in the Hawaiian community of Lahaina claimed over 100 lives and left 400 more missing. Questions regarding emergency preparedness and communication remain unanswered. Many are asking how these tragic deaths might have been avoided through better preparedness measures or communication strategies. Here in the Inland Empire, we should be asking ourselves a similar question: “how can we better prepare to increase community self-reliance and resiliency when future disasters occur?”
The failure to act in the face of an oncoming disaster was a major factor in the Lahaina fire tragedy. People saw the fire coming, but they waited too long to flee the city. This was likely due to a combination of factors, including “disaster paralysis,” a disbelief that the fire would reach Lahaina, and critically, a lack of communication from authorities and between community members. When the cell system and land lines stopped working, people were left without a way to communicate with each other or with emergency services. This made it even more difficult for people to escape the fire – especially since the one remaining escape route was blocked by downed power lines and clogged traffic.
The Lahaina tragedy invites comparison with the devastating 2018 forest fire in the Northern California’s Butte County. This underscored the importance of developing robust emergency preparedness plans and the community-focused radio systems to strengthen community resilience to natural disasters. This is a lesson the Maui officials clearly didn’t learn.
The fire that devastated Butte County started on November 8, 2018. Named the “Camp Fire,” it destroyed the towns of Paradise, Concow, Magalia and Butte Creek Canyon and killed more than 80 people. Critical communication about the location and speed of the fire, evacuation routes and medical needs were not communicated, and people died. This is a tough lesson to learn but the people of Butte County did something about it.
As the region rebuilt, citizens and officials from Butte County addressed the communication dilemma by creating a community-focus, easy-to-use radio system that utilizes existing county radio infrastructure. This system, using inexpensive General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios, has ensured that citizens can communicate among themselves – and with emergency responders – to pass along vital, potentially live saving information when phone lines and cellular system are down.
GMRS radios are two-way radios that operate on frequencies that are reserved for general public use. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to use. They can be purchased from multiple sources for as little as $30. GMRS radios can transmit voice and data signals over distances much greater than CB radios or typical “blister pack” camp radios many people use for recreational use. When used in conjunction with radio repeaters that are located at existing radio tower sites (like county radio systems), GMRS radio have an effective range of between 10-70 miles. This makes them ideal for use in emergency situations when communication is essential. And their low cost and ease of use means literally every household can afford and use them.
During Inland Empire disasters like earthquakes, fires, floods and snowstorms, GMRS radios can be used to:
Create ad hoc networks to help people to communicate with each other when the phone and cell systems and the Internet are down;
Warn people about a coming danger and advise them to evacuate;
Provide direct radio communication that is instantaneous and eliminates delays in passing along critical information;
Coordinate medical assistance for people who are ill or have been injured;
Coordinate evacuation efforts between individuals and groups;
Stay in touch with family and friends who were also trying to evacuate or shelter in place; and,
Communicate with emergency responders.
Repeater-based GMRS systems can also be used by public safety officials as a local “emergency broadcast system” to relay critical information not only about disasters, but also lost hikers, critical missing people and other perilous situations like the fugitive manhunt that paralyzed the San Bernardino mountains in 2013.
In both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, multiple mountain tops have county owned radio towers and secure facilities. These could easily be used to locate GMRS repeaters that citizens could access over a very large region for day-to-day and emergency communications. This is exactly what Butte County did with their GMRS system. This is also what the City of Redlands is building by using a city-owned radio structure on one of its high elevation water towers. If Inland Empire County officials elected to construct such a system, it would empower citizens be more self-reliant during emergencies, ultimately save government money, and, most importantly, save lives.
The tragedies in Lahaina and Northern California serve as eye-opening lessons about the importance of situational awareness and communication during emergencies. A cost-effective, governmental repeater based GMRS radio system is in everyone’s best interest. Our elected representatives care about the safety of their constituents and the effective and efficient use of taxpayer resources. This type of radio system is a proven way for them to demonstrate that concern. If you believe that as I do, I encourage you to contact your elected representatives and ask about building a county-wide GMRS system.
GMRS radios could have saved lives in Butte County and Lahaina. And they can save lives here in the Inland Empire. All that is needed is the political will to make it so.