Upper Freehold ready in the event of emergency

UPPER FREEHOLD - The township's Office of Emergency Management conducted a communication drill Aug. 11 from its Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The purpose of the drill was to test radio communications and message handling between all area emergency responders during a disaster, according to a press release from the township's Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

The scenario for the drill was a category two hurricane, dubbed Hurricane William. Participating agencies in the drill were the New Jersey State Police from the Hamilton barracks, the Allentown First Aid Squad, Allentown's Hope Fire Company, the Upper Freehold Regional School District, the Upper Freehold Department of Public Works (DPW), the Monmouth County OEM, the Salvation Army and the ham radio Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)-Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), according to the press release.

During the drill, test messages simulating hurricane emergencies such as downed trees and wires, structural damage to buildings, flooding and fires were sent between the participating agencies. The township's EOC has direct radio communication to the state police in Hamilton. The EOC also has ARES-RACES ham radio equipment that provides direct communication with the Monmouth County EOC, the press release said.

ARES has formal, national agreements to provide emergency communication aid for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Human Services (DHS), the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other response organizations. During the township's drill, ARES was activated in Monmouth County's EOC as well as the township's EOC, the press release said.

RACES is only activated during and after an emergency if government emergency management needs communication support. RACES provides radio communication for civil preparedness purposes during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies including fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes or war-related activities. The ARES-RACES communication network was successfully tested between Monmouth County's and Upper Freehold's OEMs, according to the press release.

A critique of the drill took place in Upper Freehold's EOC Aug. 16 with Gary McTighe, the coordinator of Monmouth County's OEM, and Russell Hendrickson, the disaster services coordinator for the Salvation Army, who was attending the event with township emergency responders. Those in attendance determined that the township needs to make modifications to two radios and must also increase the height of the ham radio antenna. There is also a need for the township's DPW and OEM to purchase backup repeaters for their frequencies on the ham radio, according to the press release.

"All agreed the exercise was a success," Bill Wentzien, the township's OEM coordinator, said in the release.

Because of the drill, the National Weather Service in Mount Holly has certified Upper Freehold as a "StormReady" community. The exercise proved that the emergency management office has the capability to coordinate emergency activities in the township and to mitigate the effects of an emergency, according to the press release.