Valley FM’s Emergency Management Manual

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION PACK

Regarding Community Radio Station

VALLEY FM 89.5 (1VFM)

Tuggeranong, A.C.T.

 

This Emergency Management Information Pack contains information to assist A.C.T. Emergency Services in times of emergency.

This Pack contains:

* Background details about Valley FM 89.5

* Maps of Valley FM’s coverage area/footprint (local & regional)

* Alphabetical list of suburbs/areas covered

* Details of broadcast times/in an emergency

* Emergency broadcast procedures and presenters’ awareness

* General contact details

* Program guide

* Website details and links to Emergency Services

* Emergency contacts

Background Details About Valley FM 89.5

Valley FM 89.5, callsign 1VFM, is a fully-licenced (PCBL) community radio station which has been on air since June 1999 and is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) and the Southern Community Media Association (SCMA).

Valley FM 89.5 broadcasts primarily to the Tuggeranong and Lanyon Valleys; hence the name “Valley” FM, but our FM (“line-of-sight”) signal also reaches into other surrounding areas (see attached map). We transmit 24×7 on a frequency of 89.5MHz FM in stereo, on a fairly low power of 100 watts – as authorized by the Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA).

Valley FM 89.5 has no paid staff, but has about 70 volunteers; most of whom (but not all) live in the Tuggeranong area and most of whom know the local area very well indeed, having been born and bred there. Our studio is located in the former Police Station at Wanniassa, but we do not have any volunteers manning an office as such, as all administration is done at Board members’ homes.

At least one member of Valley FM 89.5 is a volunteer with the SES, while former members of Valley FM have been in the ACT Fire Brigade. Several members, including the President (Chris Moy) and the Treasurer (Diane Lawrence) are former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), with communications and electronics backgrounds, as well as having some knowledge of emergency and disaster recovery, especially in times of crisis. Most members of Valley FM 89.5, though not all, are – or have been – public servants.

All members of Valley FM 89.5 are aware of the need to broadcast important, emergency information as quickly as possible, as well as being aware of their responsibility not to broadcast incorrect information, nor to sensationalise the facts. This is part of their basic training course which is refreshed periodically at workshops, meetings, in e-mails, etc.

Map of Valley FM’s Catchment Area/Footprint (not included on the website version)

(Immediate Area of Tuggeranong)

1. Valley FM’s studio location is marked with an “X”

2. The suburb of Hume is not shown on this map

Map of Valley FM’s Catchment Area/Footprint

(Surrounding Area of A.C.T./N.S.W.)

Alphabetical List of Suburbs/Areas Covered by Valley FM 89.5

Banks

Bonython

Burra (NSW)

Calwell

Chisholm

Conder

Corin Forest

Erindale (shopping centre & location of Valley FM 89.5)

Fadden

Garran (partial coverage)

Gilmore

Gordon

Gowrie

Greenway

Guises Creek

Hume

Hyperdome (shopping precinct, but not inside the shops)

Isaacs (partial coverage)

Isabella Plains

Jerrabomberra (partial coverage)

Kambah

Lanyon (including Lanyon Homestead & Marketplace)

Mawson (partial coverage)

Macarthur

Monash

Oxley

Queanbeyan (partial coverage)

Richardson

Tharwa

Theodore

Wanniassa

Notes:

1. This coverage area includes approximately 100,000 people,

2. In some areas, reception depends upon quality of listeners’ radio receivers

Details of Broadcast Times

Valley FM 89.5 transmits 24×7 (all day, every day); however, when live announcers – who are all volunteers – are unable to attend, or are not allocated to particular timeslots, Valley FM 89.5 switches over to the Community Radio (Satellite) Network, which comes from Sydney, NSW., via a satellite dish and a receiver, located at our studios in Wanniassa, ACT, in the former Police Station building behind the Erindale Shopping Centre.

A recent Program Guide is included in this Pack, but generally, live announcers broadcast between the hours of 7am to 10pm on a daily basis.

In An Emergency

Valley FM 89.5 has a number of announcers who are able to “drop everything” and race to the studio to broadcast emergency information bulletins.

If no live announcer was on air, the contacts provided in this Pack would need between 5 and 10 minutes lead time to commence live transmission, if this were necessary; as long as power is available to the studio and the roads to the studio are relatively clear.

If this were not possible, for whatever reason, Valley FM 89.5 could call on a number of announcers who live about 5 minutes walk from the studio in Wanniassa.

At this stage Valley FM 89.5 does not have an UPS (uninterrupted power supply), but it is hoped that a UPS and a generator can be purchased in the near future – if sufficient funding becomes available. However, even during the 2003 ACT bushfires, power to the studio was connected continuously, and was not lost at any stage. Further, Valley FM 89.5 has very low power consumption, due to its low transmission power of 100 watts and minimal studio equipment.

Valley FM 89.5 has a recording of the Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS) which can be broadcast – at the request of the ACT ESA, through one of the Valley FM emergency contacts listed in this Pack.

Emergency Broadcast Procedures and Presenters’ Awareness

A copy of the ACT Government’s publication, “Emergencies and the National Capital: A Resident’s Guide”, is located in the Valley FM studio for easy access by the on-air announcer.

Enlarged copies of the “ACT All Hazards Warning System” and the “ACT Evacuation Strategy” are attached to the main notice board in the Valley FM studio and all announcers have been informed about them, and what they mean.

All announcers have been instructed to only broadcast the information that they are required to broadcast, provided by ACT ESA.

The SEWS warning signal recording is located in a safe place in the studio and may only be broadcast with the authority of those on the Emergency Contact List in this Pack, who require the necessary (verified) authority of ACT ESA.

Emergency Procedure

ACT ESA provides emergency information to a Valley FM emergency contact;

Valley FM’s emergency contact relays the information immediately to the on-air announcer, or arranges for someone to open up the studio and broadcast the information; as well as broadcast any later updates provided by ACT ESA;

Wherever possible, the Valley FM studio will remain manned until the situation returns to normal or to a stable condition;

While announcers would normally do their best, it must be remembered that Valley FM’s announcers are all volunteers, who can not be forced to remain “at their post”, particularly if they believe that their own lives, or homes (or those of their families) are in danger.

Valley FM’s General Contact Details

Station: Valley FM 89.5 (1VFM)

Location: Cnr Sternberg Crescent & Grattan Court, Wanniassa, ACT

Postal Address: PO Box 112, Erindale, ACT, 2903

Studio Phone: 02 6296.6895 (no fax or answering machine on this number)

Fax: (No studio fax – use announcers’ personal faxes with permission)

Mobile 1: 0417 752 494 (Mr Chris Moy) also SMS, no voicemail

Phone 1: 02 6292.0332 (Mr Chris Moy) also with answering machine

E-mail 1: valleyfm895@optusnet.com.au

Website:http://www.valleyfm.com

Valley FM’s Program Guide

Details in Valley FM’s Program Guide can change quickly, and without prior notice, as all our announcers are volunteers – with other commitments and priorities, from time to time.

Like any volunteer organisation, our members do tend to come and go at quite short notice, although several members have been with Valley FM 89.5 since its inception in 1999.

In an emergency, someone could be found to broadcast if necessary.

Valley FM’s Website Details and Links to Emergency Services

Valley FM’s website (http://www.valleyfm.com) has direct – and easy to find – links to all of Canberra’s Emergency Service organisations.

As far as we know, the following links are all current and correct:

* ACT Emergency Services Authority:

http://www.esa.act.gov.au/

* ACT Police:

http://www.afp.gov.au/afp/page/ACT/

* ACT Fire Brigade:

http://www.firebrigade.act.gov.au/

ACT Ambulance Service:

http://www.ambulance.act.gov.au/

* ACT Rural Fire Brigade:

http://www.rfs.act.gov.au/

* ACT State Emergency Service:

http://www.ses.act.gov.au/

* ACT Government Shopfront “Canberra Connect”:

http://www.canberraconnect.com.au/CAP/accesspoint/cc?action=menuHome

* Australian Disaster Information Network:

http://www.ausdin.gov.au/

* Sentinal Bushfire Website:

http://sentinel2.ga.gov.au/acres/sentinel/index.shtml

The Valley FM website also provides a link to the ACT Bureau of Meterology website at:

http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDN10035.txt

If any of these links are broken, or changed, please e-mail valleyfm895@optusnet.com.au

Valley FM’s Emergency Contacts

(not pasted on website for security reasons)