Emergency Response

The State Archives of Florida is seeking photographs for its newest photographic collection, “Weather, Disaster and Recovery.”By donating photos for this new collection people can help document and preserve the history of their Florida community and fill historical gaps in the State Archives’ collections.

The Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club is hosting an annual nationwide emergency preparedness exercise and public outreach event demonstrating the critical role of amateur radio in post-disaster recovery.The 24-hour American Radio Relay League Field Day event runs from noon June 28 until noon June 29 at North Fort Myers Community Park, 2000 Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers.

The Lee County Public Safety Center, formerly the Lee Emergency Operations Center, opened Thursday following a ribbon cutting ceremony. The Public Safety Center features a second building attached to the existing Emergency Operations Center building.

Most people are probably at least a bit familiar with the hobby of amateur — or HAM — radio. It’s a means of communication that allows individuals to talk over sometimes very long distances for noncommercial reasons using what’s called a transceiver and an antenna, on certain frequency bands that have been allocated for HAM radio use. And while it’s referred to as a hobby, amateur radio can also play a key role during emergencies. We get some insight into this kind of behind-the-scenes and old-school means of communication with three people who are amateur radio operators themselves, and members of the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, which has been around since 1957.

Four FEMA Disaster Assistance Teams are canvassing areas of Charlotte County impacted by Hurricane Idalia to assist residents with information and registering for individual assistance.

FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on Wednesday.The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m.

The city has setup temporary telephone numbers that can be used to contact each department.

The Collier Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved adding 12 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions to the county’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division.The hiring of 12 people is supposed to ensure the county’s EMS operations has sufficient staffing to support ambulance services, reduce overtime for paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and to provide plans for EMS expansion throughout the next two years.

Effective immediately, residents and visitors can expect a more responsive 911 service due to an upgrade of Next Generation 911 technology. Now, first responders will be able to quickly locate the emergency with advanced location services. Call takers will have a map to show exactly where the call comes from and then will share that information with first responders.

Inaction by a group of Florida teenagers who videotaped a man's drowning rather than calling for help has prompted legislation in the Arizona Senate...