Year in review: Point Roberts Emergency Preparedness

As Point Roberts Emergency Preparedness group is tasked with educating the local residents with being prepared for disasters, we are also preparing our members to become amateur radio operators (HAMs) in coordination with Point Roberts Auxiliary Communications Service and the Community Emergency Response Team to assist the fire department in disasters.

We have in 2018 invested a great deal of the funds raised through events and grants to purchase the CERT trailer, erect a base station antenna at the community center and put together a portable communication equipment, all of which is important to have when we get cut off from the U.S. mainland, once power and telephones are not functional.

In 2018, PREP has been involved in:

• 4th of July pancake breakfast.

• Fire department open house.

• CERT training with fire dept.

• Weekly net control testing (HAM).

• Field day radio communications testing (PRACS).

• Community center antenna erection and base station set up.

• Prepping the CERT trailer for serving community needs.

We are hoping to have more involvement from community members to be able to coordinate education/training days for CERT and HAM certifications during 2019.