Citizens provide vital link in emergency response

Anyone who has ever listened to a commercial radio or television station is no doubt familiar with the high pitched tones that occasionally interrupt your music or your favorite program.

The words “This is a test of the emergency broadcast system” are firmly engrained in the minds of almost every American.

There is another, less well known but equally important mode of communication that exists to assist citizens and first responders in the case of an emergency: amateur radio operators.

Often referred to as HAM radio, these citizens and their radios make up a network of communications that can operate without electricity or cell phone connections. They provide an invaluable link between those in the field and emergency management systems such as fire, police and other first responders.

For more on this story, see the September 1 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.