Greetings,
I wanted to take a brief moment to share some upcoming training and local community volunteer opportunities. These sessions are open/available to anyone to attend and completion of the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) is not required.
Introduction to Community Based Emergency Radio Communications
Emergency managers utilize a PACE (primary, alternative, contingent, emergent) based communications plan. In the event that typical communication paths (phone/internet) are impacted during a natural or manmade event, having a secondary communications plan is vital in order to remain connected with family, friends and neighbors. Inexpensive two-way radios provide a suitable means for emergency communication.
Participants attending this class will learn:
- A local radio communications plan developed to cover the City of Lake Oswego that utilizes Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios
- Basic radio operations and how to communicate efficiently using radios
- How radios can be utilized by neighborhood groups to pass vital information discussed during CERT training (damage assessments, treatment area records, general messages, etc.)
This training session will include a hands-on portion where participants will utilize FRS radios to establish radio nets, pass messages and practice skills. It will be an appropriate introduction for anyone wishing to participate in a future city-wide exercise in June. The information will be offered at two different dates and times; you do not need to attend both sessions. You MUST sign up through Better Impact to attend either of the sessions.
April 22nd – 1:30 to 3:30 PM in Council Chambers at Lake Oswego City Hall
380 A Avenue Lake Oswego OR, 97034
OR
April 30th from 6:30 – 9:30 PM in the Willow Room at Lake Oswego Public Works
17601 NE Pilkington Road Lake Oswego, OR 97035
How to Sign Up/Register
If you receive this email directly from me, you currently have a user profile in our online system. To register for the April 22nd or the April 30th training, please follow these instructions. Participants for the either of these training sessions must sign up online and complete a separate registration for each participant. You cannot register two people with one profile or register by sending me an email for those two classes. Registrations will close when we reach 30 participants.
- Enter in your username
- Enter in your password
- Click on the button “Login”
NOTE: If you receive this email from a family member or friend that forwards this to you and you do not have a user profile on our CERT/Volunteer portal, then use this link to register your account in lieu of step 1 above. https://bttr.im/1qt7x
- Once logged in, hover the cursor over the menu item titled “OPPORTUNITIES”
- You can pick either view: ‘Opportunity Calendar’
- Be sure there are no filters set in the “Category” (by default it doesn’t filter)
- Locate the training class listed on the calendar for either day you are interested in attending and click on it.
- In the pop-up dialog box that appears, you’ll see some of the details for this class. Click on the button at the bottom right that says “+ Sign Up”
- If the option for “+ Sign Up” is not available, the class has reached maximum capacity. Click on the option “+ Add me to the back-up list” If someone is unable to attend or drops out, participants will be added in the order of the waitlist.
Confirmed participants that sign up on line will recieve an updated email shortly before the class with additional details. If you have problems signing up, please feel free to reach out for assistance.
Teen CERT
We will again be offering a Teen CERT course for high school students attending either Lake Oswego or Lakeridge High Schools. These sessions will run weekly on Wednesdays after school beginning April 30th and will run through May 28th. This is only available to current high school students and takes place immediately after school. Please contact Deputy Fire Marshal David Smith via email (dsmith@ci.oswego.or.us) for more information for your student to sign up.
Volunteers Needed – Lake Oswego Lake Run
The 49th annual Lake Oswego Lake Run will take place on May 3rd and is looking for volunteers to assist along the race routes. The race consists of a 10k, a 5k and a Kid’s Dash and is sponsored by Northwest Housing Alternatives. You can view a list of possible volunteer positions and sign up to participate by visiting: https://runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/OR/LakeOswego/LakeOswegoLakeRun2024 . These volunteer positions are managed by the race organizers Northwest Housing Alternatives and are not associated with LOFD or the CERT program. For questions related to this event, please reach out to Northwest Housing Alternatives via phone 503-654-1007 ext. 109 or via email, lakerun@nwhousing.org Please do not reply to this message asking questions as questions need to be routed to the organizers using the information listed above.
Radio Communications Exercise
In late June, (date is not confirmed), amateur radio volunteers with the Lake Oswego Amateur Radio Emergency Service (LOARES – https://loares.org/) group will be conducting a communications exercise. This exercise will involve passing messages of varying priority from the four Lake Oswego Fire Stations to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). In the past, these messages have been simulated by written prompts left at the fire stations for radio operators to process at set times. In June, it is our hope to integrate additional radio operators with FRS and/or GMRS radios into the exercise to further test and refine our planning process and development of procedures. The FRS/GMRS radio operators would be positioned in areas around the fire stations and would be instructed to send pre-defined messages to their closest fire station at specific times. The messages sent in would follow themes and processes discussed during CERT training with regards to neighborhood organization during an emergency event. I
While this exercise will be open to anyone, it is highly encouraged that participants have attended one of the upcoming April training sessions. More details to follow.
SPRING CERT COURSE
We are still working on dates for the full 24-hour CERT course. If you are on our waiting list, you will be advised as soon as we identify the dates the course will be offered and given first opportunity to sign up if the dates/times work with your schedule.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions regarding the radio communications class.
Regards,
David
David Smith
Deputy Fire Marshal | Fire Department
PO BOX 369 | 300 B Avenue | Lake Oswego OR 97034
503-635-0378
Monday-Thursday
Respect. Excellence. Trust. Service.
