National Radio Event Tests Renton's Communication Abilities

Communication is critical in an emergency. Crises like the recent in Redmond or Thursday's near a Renton library prove that information is key to safety.

The American Radio Relay League, also called ARRL, sponsors an annual event called "field day" that will be celebrated this Saturday to test radio capabilities all over the country.

The city of Renton's Emergency Communications Service, ECS, will be participating in the national event this weekend at the south end of Liberty Park starting Saturday, June 25 at 11 a.m. The event will run for 24 hours, and end on Sunday, June 26 at 11 a.m.

More than 40 local radio operators, including Lee Cummings will begin the radio operations.

Cummings, a member of the Renton ECS, led the radio team at last year's field day. This year is only the Renton ECS' second year participating. 

"We want to demonstrate our emergency communication outside in less-than-ideal conditions," Cummings said. "We pass communication messages on amateur radio bands to whomever can get them: county receivers, individual receivers, etc."

Cummings, who first got into radio as part of an emergency communication training program for the King County's Fire District 40, says she has volunteered for the ECS night shift during the radio weekend.

"I'll definitely be taking a nap at some point during the radio test," Cummings joked.

While she was the team leader for last year's field day, Cummings will is charged with overseeing general operations for this year's event.

She'll be passing the team leader mantel to David Cromer, a fellow  radio operator, who Cummings says helped get her into radio seven years ago.

The field day event, for the Renton ECS, provides an opportunity to educate the general public on the capabilities and importance of radio during an emergency.

According to the ARRL's web site, the official goal of individual radio groups during the event is to simulate operating on emergency power or improvised power sources, in order to demonstrate if they can still broadcast and communicate on various radio frequencies.

The Renton ECS will use this opportunity to test their new emergency response vehicle, which boasts radio capabilities in the field comparable to that of a typical station.

"We also want to demonstrate how radio can be used to put people in contact with their loved ones," said Cummings. "During a disaster, for example, radio operators can broadcast information about people within individual shelters in an attempt for those people to reach their loved ones."

The ECS will also give an opportunity for citizens to use the radio during the Field Day, even going as far as to offer official licensing and training in emergency radio operations.