Bob Willey center, of Centralia's Amateur Radio Emergency Services, or ARES, group, talks with area resident Dick Watson Tuesday about the group's communication abilities during an emergency. Willey and volunteers from ARES gathered at the Centralia City Council meeting to gain awareness for National Preparedness Month.
To mark National Preparedness Month, Centralia’s ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) group demonstrated their equipment and capabilities Tuesday for the Centralia City Council.
“We are a disaster response team of volunteers,” said Bob Willey, of ARES. “We come out without pay when the need is there.”
Willey, formerly of the Centralia Police Department, said the volunteers in ARES are all ham radio operators able to aid in communications during emergencies, when cell towers and phone lines aren’t working.
The group brought radio equipment and their mobile radio van to the council meeting Tuesday.
“The equipment on that van has more (communication) capability than any vehicle in Lewis County that I know of,” Willey said. “We maintain preparedness.”
Willey asked the councilors and citizens in attendance to spend time thinking about their response to an emergency, such as a natural disaster.
“We would just ask that everybody think a little bit about family preparedness plans,” he said.
