EDITOR:
A few days ago, Douglas County experienced the loss of its 911 system due to a breach of a fiber optic bundle.
A letter to the editor on the opinion page of The Record-Courier (R-C Dec. 15) appeared after that event praising all those services that responded with their particular field of expertise.
Of course, this included both fire and sheriff staff as well as other agencies that assisted in filling the gap while the necessary repairs were made.
One additional group that can and will respond to these sorts of emergencies is the Douglas County Amateur Radio Team. DCART is an organization of amateur radio operators who volunteer their equipment and services in response to situations where normal communications have been compromised.
DCART was called out by the Douglas County 911 Emergency Services Manager for this incident. Members of DCART responded to some locations to provide emergency communications.
A second incident arose in Lyon County on Monday when their 911 system became unavailable. On this occasion the DCART was called out to provide relaying support for the five hours that the 911 system was not operating.
So when you hear of an event that causes normal communications to fail, know that citizens of Douglas County are prepared to respond to assist in filling the gap.
Walt Nowosad
Carson City
