Testing/FCC Licensing
If you are interested in acquiring your HAM radio license, or upgrading your license, contact us. We frequently have testing sessions, and can help with resources for studying.
FEMA Training
Numerous free home study coursed are available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for anyone with Internet access and a desire to increase their awareness of individual and community related emergency management practices. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security recommended that individuals volunteering with public safety agencies take the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) training programs. These two courses help prepare individuals to understand the management systems currently used by local through federal government agencies responding to emergency situations. These management systems have been universally adopted and are used daily across the nation. Additional free courses are provided free of charge in an online format, so students can fit them into their personal schedules. College credits are available for successful course completion. It also bears stating that each course is ABSOLUTELY FREE!
To register and take these courses, just go to the FEMA Independent Study Program and sign up for ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-700 and ICS-800, which are the four main courses for all emergency responders and emergency communicators. Each course can be completed in a short period of time, and after taking the online examination a certification of completion (PDF) is sent to the student by e-mail.
You are encouraged to take as many courses as you wish, as the provide some very useful and important information about and how to prepare for and respond to differenct types of hazards.
SKYWARN
The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service and access to communication, such HAM radio, to join the SKYWARN® program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become a spotter.
NWS has 122 local Weather Forecast Offices, each with a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, who is responsible for administering the SKYWARN® program in their local area. Training is conducted at these local offices and covers:
- Basics of thunderstorm development
- Fundamentals of storm structure
- Identifying potential severe weather features
- Information to report
- How to report information
- Basic severe weather safety
Classes are free and typically are about two hours long. To find out when a SKYWARN® class will be conducted in local your area, contact your local Warning Coordination Meteorologist at: https://www.weather.gov/stormready/tx-cwa.
For more information: https://www.weather.gov/SKYWARN