 SHAREed
RESourcesC-T,
August 23, 2018
Livingston County Emergency
Communication First in Missouri
Through a collaboration of the County Commissioners and the Chillicothe Fire Chief, Livingston County is the first in Missouri to establish a high frequency emergency radio system. This system has the ability to connect directly to
federal, state and local government relief agencies when land lines, cell phones and the internet are unavailable.
The SHARed RESources, SHARES, program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security to provide emergency communications related to leadership, safety, law and order, finance and public health. SHARES is composed of about 1,400 high frequency radio stations representing over 100 federal, state, local government and critical infrastructure organizations in all 50 states. Nearly 500 emergency planners and responders are included in this group. Also included among the participating organizations is the Central United States Earthquake Consortium, CUSEC, which is made up of the eight states contiguous to the New Madrid Fault. These stations are prepared to send and receive information concerning earthquake preparedness and evacuation planning.
SHARES is a voluntary network used for emergency messages over high frequency radios that provide nationwide interoperability. Operationally, it functions similarly to a combination of telephone and internet, i.e., direct voice communication like an old fashion party line or using digital methods to send error free encrypted
"radio-mail" or as a radio post office where messages are stored and forwarded to recipients. Livingston County completed its RadioMail Server, RMS, installation in August of 2017, and the station has been running 24/7/365 since then. This installation is remote from the County
Emergency Operation Center and runs with very little operator intervention. It has back up electrical power for emergency disruptions. Simultaneous with the RMS a
"user station" was established at the Emergency Operation Center giving the already established amateur radio equipment there the ability to communicate on the SHARES authorized frequencies. This allows for voice communications and high speed
digital messages to be sent and received for our local emergency manager.
In July 2018, Livingston County completed its third SHARES station that can be configured as either an RMS or a user station. This station is portable and can be transported to any required location providing emergency power and having space to erect an antenna. It is stored away from the other two installations. |
