Southwick Town Offices
454 College Highway
Southwick, MA 01077

Telephone: (413) 569-0308

General e-mail: sema@southwick-ema.org

Emergency Management

OFFICERS

Charles Dunlap - Director
Chuck Housner - Assistant Director and Webmaster
Keith Stromgren - Assistant Director
Eric Carroll - Radio Officer

MEMBERS

Joan Boissonnault
John Cashman
Aaron Dewinkeleer 
Pauline Dunlap
Mary Grasso
David Houle
Peter Jakobowski
Peter Jakobowski, Jr.
John Long
Robert Miller
Howard Pohlman

R.A.C.E.S. (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service)

Southwick FCC licensed amateur radio operators appointed by local government that provide emergency / disaster communications within Southwick, for liaison to adjacent local communities and to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency under FEMA guidelines and FCC rules and regulations.

RACES, administered by local, county and state Emergency Management Agencies (EMA), and supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the United States government, is the part of the Amateur Radio Service that provides radio communications for civil-preparedness purposes only, during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies. These emergencies are not limited to war-related activities, but can include natural disasters such as fires, floods and earthquakes.

As defined in the rules, RACES is a radio communication service, conducted by volunteer licensed amateurs, and designed to provide emergency communications to local or state civil preparedness agencies. It is important to note that emergency management officials authorize RACES operation only, and this operation is strictly limited to official civil-preparedness activity in the event of an emergency-communications situation.

Amateurs operating in a local RACES organization must be officially enrolled in the local civil-preparedness agency having jurisdiction. RACES operation is conducted by amateurs using their own primary station licenses, and by current RACES stations. The FCC no longer issues new RACES (WC prefix) station call signs. Operator privileges in RACES are dependent upon, and identical to, those for the class of license held in the Amateur Radio Service. All of the authorized frequencies and emissions allocated to the Amateur Radio Service are also available to RACES and on a shared basis. But in the event that the President invokes his War Emergency Powers, amateurs involved with RACES might be limited to certain specific frequencies (while all other amateur operation could be silenced).

While RACES was originally based on potential use for wartime, it has evolved over the years, as has the meaning of civil defense (which is also called civil preparedness), to encompass all types of emergencies. While operating in a RACES capacity, RACES stations and amateurs registered in the local RACES organization may not communicate with amateurs not operating in a RACES capacity when only civil-preparedness communications can be transmitted. 

Charles Dunlap - Director - K1II
Chuck Housner - Assistant Director - KB1FLI
Keith Stromgren - Assistant Director - N1MOC
Eric Carroll - Radio Officer - N1HVM
John Cashman - KB1TVY
David Houle - KB1NCK
Pauline Dunlap - N1EVE

E.O.C. Call Sign - WC1SW

C.E.R.T.
Community Emergency Response Team - CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area.

Mission Statement

To establish a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the Town of Southwick in support of a trained volunteer response to aid in shelter operations, emergency communications and assistance to Public safety needs during major emergencies and large events in Southwick.

Charles Dunlap - Coordinator
Chuck Housner - Assistant Coordinator
Joan Boissonnault
John Cashman
Eric Carroll
Aaron Dewinkeleer 
Pauline Dunlap
Mary Grasso
David Houle
Peter Jakobowski, Jr.
John Long
Robert Miller
Howard Pohlman

SEMA Team

(from left to right) Charles Dunlap, Pauline Dunlap, Peter Jakobowski Jr., Bob Miller, Eric Carroll, Pat Davis (Resigned) and Keith Stromgren Not pictured:  Joan Boissonnault, David Houle, Chuck Housner, Peter Jakobowski, Howard Pohlman, John Cashman	(from left to right) Peter Jakobowski, Donald King (Resigned), Charles Dunlap, Kyle Whalley (Resigned), Chuck Housner, Bernard Keefe (Retired), Robert Miller, Pauline Dunlap, Howard Pohlman and Alexander F. Monczka (Resigned) Not pictured: Joan Boissonnault, Eric Carroll, Peter Jakobowski, Jr., David Houle, Keith Stromgren, John Cashman