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Wood County Emergency
Communications Mission Statement
and Our Commitment to Public Service
 Wood
County Emergency Communications, Inc. (WCEC) is an all-volunteer
non-profit organization, created to provide backup and overload
communications at no charge to all Public Safety agencies (fire, police,
rescue, hospital, ambulance, Red Cross, etc.) when normal communications
are overloaded or non-existent during natural and/or man-made emergencies
or disasters and drills. As such, WCEC has filed for and been granted
501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service.
In furtherance of our responsibility to the community,
WCEC also provides training at no cost to interested members of the
community at large in the areas including, but not limited to:
• Family
Emergency Communications: Equipment you should have and procedures you
will need to follow to effectively communicate with Public Safety
agencies, friends, and family members when normal communications are
unavailable during emergencies or disasters. How to developing, implement,
and practice your family’s own emergency communication plan.
• Family
Emergency Preparedness: How to plan for emergencies and make sure that
your family is equipped and prepared to survive during natural and/or
man-made emergencies or disasters. Equipment and supplies your family will
need to “shelter in place” during an emergency or disaster. Equipment,
supplies, and procedures your family will need to safely evacuate during
an emergency or disaster. Developing and stocking an individual emergency
“bug-out” bag for each family member and pet. How to train your children
in emergency procedures (what to do if you’re not there?).
• Basic
Electronics: Understanding the fundamentals of electronics and
building basic electronic circuits.
• Amateur
Radio License - Technician: Training and license examination to obtain
your FCC license as a Technician-Level Amateur Radio Operator. Assistance
with filing your documents with the FCC and obtaining your Technician
Amateur license.
• Amateur
Radio License - General: Training and license examination to obtain
your FCC license as a General-Level Amateur Radio Operator. Assistance
with filing your documents with the FCC and obtaining your General Amateur
license.
• Packet
Radio: Building and operating a Packet Radio station in the Amateur
Radio Service. Operation of the West Virginia DAREN Packet Radio system
and the FINDER data storage and reporting system.
• National
Traffic System: Traffic Net and Message Handling Procedures in the
National Traffic System. Effectively handling both routine and emergency
radio traffic using the ARRL Radiogram message format.
• Amateur
Radio Operation Under Emergency Conditions: Setting up and operating
an amateur radio station under emergency conditions using only emergency
power.
• Radio
Repeaters: Designing, building, operating, and maintaining radio
repeaters and repeater systems.
Members of WCEC work on a regular basis to study
communication procedures, design, build, train, and work on communications
equipment and networks, both wired and wireless, that may be needed when
emergencies and/or disasters happen. WCEC has provided backup and overload
communications for several emergencies, disasters, and drills since it was
first organized. A few activities that WCEC has provided and/or
coordinated communications for are: People’s Cartage Fire, numerous major
snow storms, flooding, many major brush fires in Wood County, the Shell
fire in Belpre, the Snyder Warehouse fire, the Chevron fire in Marietta,
several Hazardous Material transportation accidents, train derailments,
boating accidents, missing persons, and power and communication outages at
both the Wood County Sheriff’s Department and Parkersburg City buildings.
WCEC was organized July 14, 1983, and is a tax exempt
organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. WCEC
receives no funding from any government agency and provides their services
to the community free of charge. Although some of the equipment used by
WCEC has been donated by local utility companies, chemical plants, and
hospitals, funds to purchase and maintain most of the communications
equipment is generated by operating BINGO games three times a year, from
free-will donations from users of its communications facilities and other
equipment, and from grants from both public and private sources.
WCEC maintains a 2-meter Amateur Radio repeater system
that operates on 147.255 MHz with 8 remote receivers, and is rapidly
expandable to include as many remote receivers as may be required in an
emergency. The repeater system is designed to provide hand-held
(“walkie-talkie”) radio coverage throughout all of Wood County and eastern
Washington County.
WCEC created and has developed a computer-based digital
Emergency Packet Radio system known as the Digital Amateur Radio Emergency
Network (DAREN). The DAREN system is a state-side radio system linking all
55 counties that has been recognized and approved by the West Virginia
State Office of Emergency Services. WCEC has installed and maintains eight
Emergency Packet Radio stations on the DAREN system in six counties, and
has installed and maintains one non-emergency Packet Radio station in Wood
County.
WCEC maintains a Packet Radio Emergency data storage
and reporting system known as “FINDER” to keep track of victims, emergency
response personnel, and equipment during disasters and other emergencies.
The “FINDER” system operates on the DAREN network.
 Members
of WCEC recently (summer 2010) completed the design and construction of a
totally self-contained Mobile Emergency Communications Suite, or MECS1, a
Mobile Communications Command and Control Vehicle for the Mid-Ohio Valley
Health Department Office of Threat Preparedness, which can be taken to the
scene of a disaster and/or can be used as a temporary Emergency Operations
Center. MECS1 has the ability to communicate on all Public Safety agency
frequencies (police, sheriff, fire, ambulance, rescue, and air-evac) in
Wood County and the five surrounding counties, plus marine, aviation, and
Citizen’s radio services. Recent additions will permit emergency
communication with virtually all Public Safety agencies in West Virginia
and Ohio. It also provides telephone and internet wi-fi capabilities via
satellite link for emergency services agencies that may be working in a
disaster area.
WCEC also maintains two emergency communications
trailers of its own which can be rapidly dispatched to any communications
emergency.
Members of WCEC are not only Amateur Radio Operators,
they also train on, and can operate on, Public Safety frequencies, and can
operate as radio and telephone operators and as dispatchers. They also
train in Emergency Operations Center and Incident Command System
procedures under both the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and
the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. They can rapidly set
up and operate emergency communications as needed at the four area
hospitals (Camden Clark Memorial, St. Joseph’s, Marietta Memorial, and
Selby General) as well as at disaster scenes or other locations as
necessary. Most of the area hospitals are equipped with additional radio
antennas to allow better operations when additional Radio Operators are
needed. WCEC has also installed and maintains both voice and packet
(digital) communications radio equipment at the Red Cross office in
Parkersburg.
WCEC also designed, administers, and coordinates the
weekly testing of the Joint Emergency Management Communications Network (JEMNET)
which links hospitals, city and county health departments, and other
medical facilities, police departments, fire departments, private
companies, and Disaster Preparedness offices throughout the Mid-Ohio
Valley.
Members of WCEC train as severe weather spotters for,
and are registered with, the National Weather Service in the National
SkyWarn Program. They also train with the Red Cross as Disaster Assessment
workers. All licensed Amateur Radio operators who are members of WCEC are
also members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), many
are members of the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES),
many are members of the local Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT), and most have received training in the National Incident
Management System (NIMS). Additionally, most members maintain current
First Aid and CPR certification, and many have additional specialized
training in Search and Rescue and as First Responders.
WCEC coordinates and helps provide no-charge Safety
Communications for various public service activities such as the
Parkersburg Half Marathon road run, the Challenge at Mountwood bike race,
several high school and middle school cross-country events, and numerous
other activities. Other public service activities are line-ups and
communications for the Parkersburg Homecoming Parade and the Parkersburg
Christmas Parade.
WCEC personnel can be recognized and identified in two
ways. During most emergency activities, disasters, and drills, WCEC
personnel should be wearing an orange vest with the word COMMUNICATIONS on
the front and back, and most will be wearing a blue tee shirt with white
lettering identifying them as WCEC members. All WCEC personnel are also
issued an ID card which has an expiration date of December 31 of the
current year.
WCEC holds a seat on the Local Emergency Planning
Committee (LEPC), and many WCEC members are also associated with, and
participate in the activities of, the LEPCs and Offices of Emergency
Management of neighboring counties. Some members of WCEC stay familiar
with members of other Public Safety agencies in Wood County by attending
meetings of the Wood County Fire Fighters Association.
WCEC is always looking for members who don’t mind
getting their hands dirty and are willing to work. If you’re
interested in providing the above type of community services just let us
know. There are no annual membership dues; we want your warm body, skills,
and ideas, not your money.
WCEC Application Form |
