Friday, August 8, 2014

ARRL/FEMA Sign New Agreement;
Fugate Lauds Radio Amateurs

The ARRL and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) signed an updated Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the League's centennial convention in Connecticut in July. The agreement, which outlines ways in which the ARRL and FEMA will cooperate in areas of emergency and disaster communications, was signed by ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, who is also KK4INZ.
"When the power is out and telecommunications are down," Fugate said at the ceremony, "the Amateur Radio community can serve as a vital resource in support of emergency responders and survivors during a disaster." 
Craig Fugate, KK4INZ
Fugate was also the keynote speaker at the ARRL's centennial banquet, where he spotlighted amateur radio's ability to provide communications when standard means fail or are overloaded. He said that he always stresses to emergency managers that they need to have a way to communicate without using the "public switched network" on which virtually all telephone and internet traffic relies.

[CQ will feature an interview with Fugate in its 2014 "Emergency Communications Special" issue next month.]