What is readiness in VECTOR?

Posted in news; tagged with news, readiness

The COVID-19 pandemic has limited in-person day-to-day VECTOR activities. How does the pandemic impact how ready we are to jump into action during a disaster?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, VECTOR has little need for in-person activities and much of our “peacetime” work happens online and on-air (amateur radio). People may feel that VECTOR only needs to do work on-air or remotely.

VECTOR has an in-person role in Vancouver’s complete communications tool kit as the city’s auxiliary communications volunteers:

  • VECTOR has stationed equipment at key nodes in our city’s disaster response network that need in-person operators to work.

  • Our radio room has an important direct in-person link to our city’s Emergency Operations Centre.

  • VECTOR operators deeply appreciate precision when relaying and receiving messages.

  • Every communications mode that VEMA uses demands relaying and capturing brief messages more precisely than most staff have had time to practice in daily work (telephone, satellite phone, commercial radio, and amateur radio). /

VECTOR’s readiness depends on our capacity to field qualified and skilled operators at the sites where the city coordinates the overall disaster response.

Follow-up

  • How ready are you to operate at one of VECTOR’s on-site stations? Learn more

  • VEMA could need VECTOR operators help getting complicated communications stations rigged.

  • VEMA could need VECTOR’s aid preparing city staff to use radios.