After Action Report
09/27/06 District 11

Submitted by:

Description of Activity:

Trial set-up of Boulder County Surge Hospital

Duration in hours:

7 hours

Serving Amateur Radio Group(s):

BCARES District 11

Served Agency(ies):

- Boulder County Public Health Department
- Boulder County Office of Emergency Management
- Boulder Community Hospital
- Longmont United Hospital
- Avista Hospital
- Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital
- University of Colorado
- Boulder County Sheriff's Department
- Longmont Police Department
- Longmont Fire Department

Describe Served Agency Participation

- Lead agency: Boulder County Public Health
- Designed and staffed by agencies participating in Boulder County hospital emergency preparedness group

Number of amateurs participating:

14

Optional - List of amateurs participating

KAØBSA George
- W3DIF Mike
- KCØJBU Kevin
- KIØHG Dave
- KGØHU Jim
- WØIPL Pat
- KBØLRS Mark
- KBØNAS Doshia
- KAØQPV Dale
- NØRUX George
- KCØTRM Josh
- KBØTVH Ed
- KCØVJE Louis
- WØXE Barry

Man hours for the event (checkins*duration)

98, additional 10+ in preplanning

List the goals of the activity:

- General exercise objectives
1. Provide a quality-training environment while ensuring exercise participant and public safety
2. Increase public awareness of pandemic flu preparedness prior to and during the exercise
3. Set-up a surge treatment center
4. Evaluate pre-plans
- Additional objectives for BCARES
1. Back up and assist with communications among participants trying to use low power 70 cm and police/fire band radios to communicate
2. Provide visual information to the Incident Command Post about the progress of the set-up process
3. Establish and maintain communication links among the various event locations
4. Train more people to be familiar with the Longmont EOC
5. Practice within the Incident Management System and become more familiar with various served agencies.
6. Demonstrate various BCARES capabilities to participating agencies

Were those goals met: (Y/N)

Y

Explain:

None included

What went well?:

- WØIPL, the initial net control station, went on the air before Hams began to arrive at the scene, establishing net control from a remote location. He was also able to establish packet, to monitor that mode and assist in bringing those stations on.
- Amateur Radio communications were established and maintained between/among the set-up site (Boulder County Fairgrounds Exhibition Hall), the check-in site, the ICP, the Longmont Office of Emergency Communications, Boulder Community Hospital, and Net Control. These were, in fact, the only reliable communication links for much of the exercise.
- A variety of modes were used, specifically 2 meter voice, packet, and ATV.
- New members were assigned to several positions for training purposes:
o W3DIF to Longmont EOC
o KCØVJE to Longmont EOC and Packet
o KCØJBU to Voice NCS
o WØXE to ATV

Areas needing improvement:

- Copying and passing longer messages on packet
- Look at how to set up all-weather communications center outdoors (not needed that day; various members did have weather protection capability along. However, it is something we have not done.)
- Look at all-weather protection for ATV repeater system
- Possible need for system to schedule checkout and maintenance of less frequently used systems at served agencies. (Pre-amp failure at Longmont EOC)

Lessons Learned:

- If one tries to copy and paste a word document into packet, the control characters may cause the program to fail
- One can copy and paste from a text document
- Packet set 4 has a switch, which may be set either on HF or 2 meters.

Additional Training needed:

- Features of various packet sets
- Techniques for entering and manipulating longer pieces of information in packet
- More people with orientation to Longmont EOC

Ideas for future exercises:

-Packet-only simulation, using all devices/connections available, including HF packet
-At some point, there will probably be an exercise that includes simulated patients in some capacity.

Comments:

- The professionalism and reliability of the amateur radio team was much appreciated.
- Most members wore their optional D11 ARES shirts as well as their official baseball caps. These enabled people to identify them and differentiate them from unescorted media.
-One mode considered, HF packet, was not included due to lack of personnel