Confusion Over Who is in the LMRFD and Who Pays Tax to the LMRFD

There seems to be some confusion over what parcels are in the LMRFD, and who pays taxes to the LMRFD. Everyone pays a tax to the Fire District Assistance Fund, usually between $2.00 and $10 a year. Many people think because it says "Fire District" Assistance Fund, in means they're in the fire district, many are not.

Use the Mohave County Assessor's Office web page, on the left you'll see a link to your Current Tax Bill. Look for Lake Mohave Ranchos FD on your tax bill. If it doesn't say "Lake Mohave Ranchos FD" you're not in the fire district.

I pay $178.78 or 22.65%  of my property taxes to the LMRFD. I only pay $108.35 or 13.73% of my property taxes to Mohave County.

Please check and see if you are in the LMRFD. I talk to people every week who think they're in the LMRFD, only to find they're not. This includes some parcels only blocks from the Meadview fire station.

Don't wait until the election in May, only to find you don't receive a ballot because you're not in the fire district.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and that the new year is prosperous for you and yours.

We vote in a new fire board this next May. I hope we can come together as a community and support the new fire board in whatever course they choose.

We still need people to take the CERT Training coming up in January. SEE Confusion About CERT Training for how to contact Mike Browning to sign up, or for more information on CERT.

CERT Training is something everyone should take. It doesn't matter if you're a prepper or not, it's basic training in first aid, search and rescue, and other skills everyone who lives in a rural area should know. In case of a major emergency you can provide support for your family, friends and neighbors until emergency services can get there.

Let's Be Careful Out There

Merry Christmas
Jay & Jean Fleming
Dolan Springs Arizona

Amateur Radio Volunteers Respond to Flood Emergency in Southern India:

Amateur Radio Volunteers Respond to Flood Emergency in Southern India:

from The ARRL Letter on December 10, 2015
Website: http://www.arrl.org/ 
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Amateur Radio Volunteers Respond to Flood Emergency in Southern India:

In the wake of severe flooding in Southern India resulting from several days of torrential downpours earlier this month, volunteer radio amateurs jumped in to provide emergency communication and other disaster assistance. Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSIhttp://www.arsi.info/) President Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, said hams swung into action soon after flood waters -- 3 to 4 meters deep in some places -- overwhelmed India's fourth-largest city, Chennai, and the surrounding region. Power outages in many parts of the affected area hampered Amateur Radio relief operations, and some radio amateurs were caught in the flooding. Hams with emergency power were able to pitch in, however, via two local repeaters. An HF network remained on standby.

Local hams, several belonging to the South India Amateur Radio Society (SIARS http://www.siars.org.in/) in Chennai, contributed to relief and rescue operations, working in part with ALERT, a non-governmental relief organization "Once it became possible to move, hams started going out assisting with delivery of food and water to stranded individuals and assisting with rescue from tall buildings, where people were trapped," Madhavan said. ARSI National Coordinator for Disaster Communication Jayu Bhide, VU2JAU, said the flooding was one of the city's worst disasters and was unexpected in a metropolitan area. 

Most of the cell phone network, Internet, and other communication systems were knocked out due to power failure and flooding.

The emergency network supported communication for distributing food, tracing missing people, and providing other assistance as needed. With the conventional communication infrastructure disrupted, ham radio was a mainstay. The flooding also cut off access to several bridges, dividing the city.

Bhide said this week that Chennai is slowly recovering as the flood waters recede, but recovery is expected to take a long time. More than 300 people were reported to have died as a result of the disaster. -- Thanks to Jayu Bhide, VU2JAU, Jim Linton, VK3PC, and Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN

Source:

The ARRL Letter

Some Confusion About CERT Training -- Don't Forget the CERT Training in January

There Seems to Be Some Confusion About CERT Training

CERT Training is for the average citizen who wants to learn emergency preparedness and basic emergency response skills. There’s some confusion about the need to join a CERT Team to take the training, or be part of a CERT team after the training.

The CERT web page says, "Completing CERT’s Basic Training Course prepares the public to safely assist family, friends, neighbors, co-workers or fellow students before professional first responders arrive, whether or not the trainee joins a CERT team".

This CERT TRAINING page explains that when disasters occur, professional first responders are not the first on the scene. It’s going to be friends and neighbors who are the first responders.

If roads are impassable or the local agency’s manpower is overloaded, it may be hours — or days — before professional help arrives. In this environment, nonprofessional members of the public spontaneously reach out to help those affected. 

When we had the church fires, a lot of good people jumped in to help that night. Thankfully all went well and no one was injured. But if we're going to jump in and help when a disaster hits our small community, then let's get some basic training. 

That way we are part of the plan, and assist local emergency services, rather than have someone get injured, and require valuable EMS resources needed elsewhere.

Taking CERT Training will help give Dolan Springs the preparedness skills we need so individuals and neighborhoods can reduce their dependence on emergency services and manage on existing resources until professional assistance becomes available. 

CERT’s Basic Training Course provides a baseline of emergency preparedness and educates the public in basic emergency response skills. This is something everyone who lives in the country needs to learn.

If you’re interested in taking the CERT Basic Training Course, you may want to look over an Introduction to Citizens Response Teams  IS-317, is an independent study course that serves as an introduction to CERT for those interested in completing the basic CERT training or as a refresher for current team members.

The course includes six modules: CERT Basics, Fire Safety, Hazardous Material and Terrorist Incidents, Disaster Medical Operations, and Search and Rescue, and Course Summary.

Hopefully in May when a new fire board is elected, they will choose to provide the necessary insurance for a CERT Team. We can provide additional training for people who completed the CERT training to tailor the team to what the community needs are.

To sign up for the CERT Training contact Mike Browning Assistant Coordinator for Mohave County Emergency Management at 928) 757-0930 or email him at mike.browning@mohavecounty.us

FCC wants to stop allowing cell phones with no service to call 911

In an article in Urgent Communications the FCC wants to stop allowing cell phones with no service to call 911. Today many people have pre-paid cell phones and run out of minutes, or can miss paying a bill and not have cell service. This was part of the governments deal with the cell phone companies in return for the use of the airways we all own.

Abuse of the 911 system comes from many sources, landlines, pay phones, cell phones, and NSI cell phones. If someone is abusing the 911 system, have the nice policeman who shows up explain things to them. If they continue, have a judge explain it.

Everyone needs to have the ability to call for help. That was the deal the cell companies made in return for using our airways.

Jay

FCC’s Rosenworcel says non-service-initialized (NSI) phone policy for calling 911 should be changed

Non Service Initialized Cell Phones
​Non-service-initialized (NSI) cell phones—devices that that are not subscribed to a wireless carrier—no longer should be able to call 911 as they are today, because circumstances have changed substantially since the policy was established almost 20 years ago, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said during the recent APCO Emerging Technology Forum in Atlanta.

Non-service-initialized (NSI) cell phones—devices that that are not subscribed to a wireless carrier—no longer should be able to call 911 as they are today, because circumstances have changed substantially since the policy was established almost 20 years ago, FCCCommissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said during the recent APCO Emerging Technology Forum in Atlanta.

In recent years, representatives of the 911 community have called for the FCC to review rules regarding the ability for NSI phones to call 911. When the NSI rules were created in 1996, programs were established to collect NSI phones and distribute them to people in need—domestic-violence victims being a prime example—so they could dial 911 in case of emergency.

But the NSI functionality increasingly is being used to call public-safety answering points(PSAPs) with thousands of non-emergency calls—some relatively innocent, many blatantly deceitful—that absorb considerable time and resources within 911 centers. At the same time, mobile devices have become almost ubiquitous, so the need for NSI phones to call 911 has decreased dramatically.

“So, the technology and times have changed, but our rules stay the same. And, in the interim, this has become a source of harassment,” Rosenworcel said during a question-and-answer session at the APCO event. “People now use these non-service-initialized phones to waste the time, energy and expertise of our 911 call centers.

“When I look at all of that, I think it’s time for us to get rid of this policy.”

Rosenworcel noted that the NSI issue is the focus of an ongoing proceeding at the FCC, which also wants to ensure that reasonable alternatives are provided to those that still rely on NSI devices.

“I think the challenge is just figuring out precisely how to get rid of it, so that we don’t leave anyone who might be relying on a non-service-initialized phone stuck. But it’s very clear to me that it’s time for that policy to go—it’s not 1996 anymore.

Kingman Miner - Chloride may have to provide its own firefighters

In a recent article in the Kingman Daily Miner about Chloride's consolidation with NACFD, Chief Moore said "After they consolidated, we were subsidizing a firefighter out there. "With the downturn, we couldn't do that anymore."

Does that mean the Chloride fire truck will stay in Kingman? I haven't seen anything where it was returned to Chloride.

Chief Moore went on to say, "At some level, the rural communities, these small communities, the solution out there is that people are going to have to go to school to become firefighters. We'll help provide you the training. You just need to provide the individuals willing and able to do it," said Moore.

Brings home the point small rural fire districts need volunteers. Hopefully the new fire board will find money for volunteers. As I understand the NACFD is only 70 square miles. The LMRFD is 144 sm's, and the LMRFD ambulance covers 2200 sm's.

This meeting comes just after the NACFD board of directors voted not to consolidate with another rural fire district, Lake Mohave Ranchos, based in Dolan Springs. 

That district is now looking to re-establish a fire chief and board of directors. The election is in May, so make sure you're registered to vote, and live in the LMRFD.

Jay