In the month of May, the City of Portland is participating in a series of federally-sponsored regional disaster exercises called PACE Setter. PACE Setter will be the largest regional disaster exercise Portland has participated in since TOPOFF 4 in 2007.
As part of PACE Setter, PBEM is conducting a full-scale test of the Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Nodes (BEECN). The BEECN test will take place over the course of two shifts on Wednesday, May 22nd. Volunteers will: a.) deploy to the location of the BEECN equipment cache; b.) bring the cache to the BEECN site and set up the tent and communications equipment; c.) establish communication with the nearest fire station via UHF radio provided by PBEM.
Because PACE Setter will be a thorough test of Portland’s capacity to respond in an emergency, we very much need your help for the exercise – just as we would in an actual disaster. We are asking volunteers to cover one or, if possible, two shifts. Each shift will be three hours. The first shift runs from 9 am to 12 pm, and the second runs from 1 pm to 4 pm. Free lunch is available to volunteers that can work both shifts.
Volunteers will receive all the instruction needed in order to carry the tasks out.
Since this exercise is taking place on a weekday when many people are working, volunteer availability is at a high premium. If you can take two shifts instead of one, we would very much appreciate it.
Once you add yourself to the roster, we will email you periodically to give you updates, meeting information and instructions, and to check-in. It’s a great opportunity to be a part of an large scale disaster exercise and work with emergency professionals from start to finish!
If you have friends, family, or colleagues who might be interested in taking part, please RSVP at: http://pacesettervolunteer.eventbrite.com/
Jeremy Van Keuren
NET Program Specialist
Portland Bureau of Emergency Management
d: [masked] | c: [masked]
1001 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 650 Portland, OR 97204
