HanzoSteel
Explorer
Copied and pasted from our message board.
At about 3:00 pm PST on January 16, 2010, while listening to radio traffic on the frequency 446.760 MHz, a channel used by the Los Angeles area based PAPA system, an amateur radio network, I received an emergency radio call break from KI6PCK, Jose Hernandez, from Thousand Oaks, CA. During the radio break, KI6FKP, John Stevens, out of Topanga Canyon, CA, attempted to take the emergency call, but did not have the ability to access a phone to contact emergency services. After hearing the emergency call, and the nature of the emergency, I decided that time was of the essence, and so I broke in to radio traffic, asking KI6PCK of what assistance I could offer. I asked KI6PCK what the nature of the emergency was, and to provide me with as specific description as possible of his geographical location. With his response he provided a description (on the Bradshaw trail about 15 miles Northeast of Niland, CA) as well as the GPS coordinates (33.2928, -115.1938) of the injured party. The nature of the emergency was a injured male, suffering from broken ribs, deriving from a ATV-type accident.
From that point I made the effort to immediately contact 911. Since I live in Irvine, CA, I was initially directed to the Orange County dispatcher, but the emergency call’s origin was based in Riverside County, just over the border of Imperial County. The first public safety contact I made was with California Highway Patrol (CHP), Riverside’s office, to whom I provided the description of injured party’s location and GPS coordinates.
A few minutes later I received a call from Riverside County Sheriff, asking me for location information, and during that call I received a call from Riverside County Fire. Riverside County Fire had asked more direct question about the injured party, like how old he was, whether or not there were any visible injuries, and what the general description of the landscape was of the injured party’s location. These and many more questions from the various rescue agencies were then immediately relayed to KI6PCK, who provided detailed answers.
Over the course of a half an hour, question came from both the reporting party as well as the rescuing agencies, which included, Riverside County Fire, Riverside County Sheriff, CHP, and Imperial County Sheriff, who all took part in the rescue effort. During that time Riverside Fire had coordinated with me gathering navigational information on how the reporting party had entered Bradshaw Trail into the desert, so as to report to the land-based rescue units how to arrive to the scene. At this point I received a direct call from Riverside County fireman, who I then passed on information from KI6PCK, regarding the physical description of their entrance to the trail (8 miles North of a KOA campground near Niland, CA, off of a road called Hot Mineral Springs Road).
During this entire process, I advised KI6PCK to stay put, to stand by for more information regarding the rescue, and to relay any updates they had. KI6PCK had requested an ETA from any of the rescuing agencies at one point, and I asked the first agency to call me back, which was Riverside Fire. They reported that CHP had a spotter plane about two minutes out from their location, and that a rescue helicopter was about 20 minutes inbound. KI6PCK then informed me that the injured party was experiencing very difficult breathing, and that it was worsening. Imperial County Sheriff also reported that they had an inbound rescue helicopter with an ETA of 19 minutes.
About 20 to 30 minutes after that KI6PCK reported to me that a red helicopter was directly approaching them, and that it was landing, and had the word REACH written on the side. He also reported that the injured party was showing signs of relief, and there was a long pause between this and the closing communication, where he reported that the injured party was airlifted to a nearby hospital, and that the rescue effort was a success.
Thanks, to the PAPA system, KI6PCK, and all of the rescue agencies involved, a man was successfully rescued. Without Ham radio and the PAPA system infrastructure, who knows what kind of suffering this individual would have to had experienced before he could arrive to the nearest hospital. I am so glad I was able to contribute to this effort, and would never hesitate to help another person or people in need of rescue. Amateur radio saved the day!
A report by Christopher Walsh, KJ6BBS
1/16/2010
1/16/2010
At about 3:00 pm PST on January 16, 2010, while listening to radio traffic on the frequency 446.760 MHz, a channel used by the Los Angeles area based PAPA system, an amateur radio network, I received an emergency radio call break from KI6PCK, Jose Hernandez, from Thousand Oaks, CA. During the radio break, KI6FKP, John Stevens, out of Topanga Canyon, CA, attempted to take the emergency call, but did not have the ability to access a phone to contact emergency services. After hearing the emergency call, and the nature of the emergency, I decided that time was of the essence, and so I broke in to radio traffic, asking KI6PCK of what assistance I could offer. I asked KI6PCK what the nature of the emergency was, and to provide me with as specific description as possible of his geographical location. With his response he provided a description (on the Bradshaw trail about 15 miles Northeast of Niland, CA) as well as the GPS coordinates (33.2928, -115.1938) of the injured party. The nature of the emergency was a injured male, suffering from broken ribs, deriving from a ATV-type accident.
From that point I made the effort to immediately contact 911. Since I live in Irvine, CA, I was initially directed to the Orange County dispatcher, but the emergency call’s origin was based in Riverside County, just over the border of Imperial County. The first public safety contact I made was with California Highway Patrol (CHP), Riverside’s office, to whom I provided the description of injured party’s location and GPS coordinates.
A few minutes later I received a call from Riverside County Sheriff, asking me for location information, and during that call I received a call from Riverside County Fire. Riverside County Fire had asked more direct question about the injured party, like how old he was, whether or not there were any visible injuries, and what the general description of the landscape was of the injured party’s location. These and many more questions from the various rescue agencies were then immediately relayed to KI6PCK, who provided detailed answers.
Over the course of a half an hour, question came from both the reporting party as well as the rescuing agencies, which included, Riverside County Fire, Riverside County Sheriff, CHP, and Imperial County Sheriff, who all took part in the rescue effort. During that time Riverside Fire had coordinated with me gathering navigational information on how the reporting party had entered Bradshaw Trail into the desert, so as to report to the land-based rescue units how to arrive to the scene. At this point I received a direct call from Riverside County fireman, who I then passed on information from KI6PCK, regarding the physical description of their entrance to the trail (8 miles North of a KOA campground near Niland, CA, off of a road called Hot Mineral Springs Road).
During this entire process, I advised KI6PCK to stay put, to stand by for more information regarding the rescue, and to relay any updates they had. KI6PCK had requested an ETA from any of the rescuing agencies at one point, and I asked the first agency to call me back, which was Riverside Fire. They reported that CHP had a spotter plane about two minutes out from their location, and that a rescue helicopter was about 20 minutes inbound. KI6PCK then informed me that the injured party was experiencing very difficult breathing, and that it was worsening. Imperial County Sheriff also reported that they had an inbound rescue helicopter with an ETA of 19 minutes.
About 20 to 30 minutes after that KI6PCK reported to me that a red helicopter was directly approaching them, and that it was landing, and had the word REACH written on the side. He also reported that the injured party was showing signs of relief, and there was a long pause between this and the closing communication, where he reported that the injured party was airlifted to a nearby hospital, and that the rescue effort was a success.
Thanks, to the PAPA system, KI6PCK, and all of the rescue agencies involved, a man was successfully rescued. Without Ham radio and the PAPA system infrastructure, who knows what kind of suffering this individual would have to had experienced before he could arrive to the nearest hospital. I am so glad I was able to contribute to this effort, and would never hesitate to help another person or people in need of rescue. Amateur radio saved the day!
