| Snowmelt run-off from a dramatic jump in
temperature triggered flash floods across the Gallatin River
Valley this Spring, washing out numerous dirt roads and bridges
common to the area. Citizens suddenly found pathways to homes,
businesses and recreation areas impassable due to mud slides and
trapped, deep, standing water. It was so bad, in fact, that in
March 2003 county officials had to declare a state of emergency.
This case study imparts why the County decided to add Portable
Advisory AM Radio Stations to its extensive emergency
communications arsenal. |
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 Gallatin County,
Montana, lies right at the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the
northern-most tip of Yellowstone National Park. Unusually large,
the County covers more than 2,500 square miles and boasts being
"the most populated and fastest growing county in scenic southwest
Montana." It's pretty easy to understand why. Snow-capped
mountains, clear streams, national parks and preserves cover this
stunning rural wilderness setting, drawing over 100,000 people
(locals and tourists) on any given day.
Emergency manager Jason Shrauger of the Gallatin County/City of Bozeman
OEM takes this responsibility seriously.
To ensure his vast domain is covered, he recently added three new
RoadRunnR Portable Advisory Radio Systems to Gallatin County's
emergency program. Each fire-engine red RoadRunnR unit is set up
with two frequencies (1600 and 1700 kHz) and automatic, targeted
NOAA EAS/weather radio programming. This means that when Gallatin
or adjacent Madison County receive NOAA alerts for their areas,
RoadRunnR Portable Advisory Stations automatically transmit the
broadcasts to AM radio receivers in a three-to-five-mile radius.
That's 28 to 78 square miles. These radio trailers are the first
in the nation to carry NOAA Specific Area Message Encoding that
targets broadcasts geographically.
Emergency Manager Jason Shrauger with One of the County's Three
Portable Advisory Radio Stations
In contrast to the fixed Emergency AM Advisory Radio Stations that
cities and towns usually employ, Portable Emergency Stations are
often the communication tool of choice for larger jurisdictions
(such as counties, states and the military), because Portable
Stations can be quickly deployed to affected areas during highway
incidents, evacuations, etc. For example, Palm Beach County in
Florida has used RoadRunnRs to assist with hurricane emergencies
for years; the State of South Dakota uses RoadRunnR for fire
evacuations; Umatilla Army Depot in Washington deploys them in
relation to chemical weapons destruction projects. Shrauger plans
to use Gallatin's RoadRunnRs primarily for weather-related events
and forest fires. See why, below, in his words:
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What problem were you trying to solve and what
do you see as the overall result?
Shrauger: "We had severe flooding in several areas within the
County over a series of several days. The task at hand was to
notify as many of the customers in those areas of road closures,
damaged roads and basic water safety reminders. We did this using
local print, TV and radio media as well as our web page, recorded
message line, and the HARPS [Highway Advisory Radio Portable
System]. Overall, we were successful in this event."
 How were the emergency
stations positioned with respect to the flooding and to each
other?
Shrauger: "They were placed in the immediate area of the road
closures or bridge outages to be used to notify the public of
alternate routes;..."
What were they telling listeners to do?
Shrauger: "They were telling listeners to use alternate routes,
use caution when traveling a list of specific roads, other sources
of info on the floods (web page, recorded info line, etc.)
and also had some specific safety information (don’t drive through
water, etc.)."
Were both frequencies used and, if so, why?
Shrauger: "Both frequencies were used, because we had two separate
areas affected with a need to put different info up for each
location. The locations were too close to each other to put both
on the same frequency due to overlap."
How will the system be used in the future, and how is the
public made aware of the station?
Shrauger: "These radios have been used to mitigate the damages to
roads during flooding events, used to get NOAA messages to
point-specific locations that normally did not receive NOAA
broadcasts and will be used in the future for evacuations, road
closures, specific emergent and non-emergent events to help us
keep in contact with our customers. We have several tools
available to us for notifying the general public, EAS, emergency
email, web sites, recorded phone messages, door to door, local
print, voice, and television media just to name a few. These three
Portable Advisory Radio Stations give us the opportunity to
pre-position another tool for use whenever the time arises."
How was funding for the system arranged?
Shrauger: "Gallatin County Emergency Management was the recipient
of a FEMA Project Impact Grant. We were able to use funds for this
grant to implement mitigation projects."
Why did you decide to get a portable
emergency advisory radio system?
Shrauger: "Gallatin County Emergency Management was looking for
another way to notify our customers in the event of an emergency.
We were aware of the local 530 AM highway advisory systems and
decided to take a look at a similar system to meet our needs. Once
we got in contact with ISS the decision was easy. Some of the key
decision-making features were . . .
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The ability to
choose from three different power sources [RoadRunnR is powered
by 6 unbreakable solar panels, a ten-day operational battery
backup system or AC power plug-in].
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The ability to
update messages three different ways [cellphone, landline and
locally].
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The fact that we
have a choice of two different frequencies.
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And also the
ability to add NOAA weather radio to the system.
 "The customer service that we have received
throughout the process has been exceptional. All of our questions
have been answered in a timely manner, and any changes that we
wanted to make were considered. ISS has great customer service,
helpful staff, quick delivery times, ability to customize (HARPS
look good in red), interested in the customers perspective to help
improve future versions of the product, great training on use of
radios, attention to detail (the labels on the wires, signs on the
fenders)." [Information Station Specialists provided advance
shipment. licensing and on-site demonstration of one unit at a
Montana Association of Counties meeting; and ISS owner Bill Baker
appeared on local television, explaining how the system works to
people in the community.]
What advice do you have for emergency managers in other
communities who might be considering such a system?
Shrauger: "Get as many as you can, as soon as you can. If great
customer service and an excellent product are key to your
organizational values, strongly consider ISS as a potential vender
for these pieces of equipment."
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