Home » SEADOG’s Mobile Communications Unit
SEADOG’s Mobile Communications Unit
By Sean Broderick | October 30, 2007
SEADOG–the Southeast Airports Disaster Operations Group–has added a mobile communications unit to its arsenal of ready-to-deploy tools when supporting airports in need. SEADOG, an informal network of airports that bands together to help airports stricken by natural disasters or other crippling circumstances, got the trailer donated by FAA and Harris. A grant from the Florida Department of Transportation provided funding to refurbish the unit. Staff from the Pensacola Regional Airport (PNS)–where the trailer is based and maintained–was largely responsible for doing the refurbishment work, while several companies, including Belfort Instrument (.pdf), donated hardware and systems for installation in the trailer. The result? Public-use airports now have a self-sufficient mobile unit that has its own landline phone, cell phones (five total), Internet access, and other basic communications capabilities, plus an onboard ASOS that can help keep an airport operating if the local control tower is not up. The unit runs on about a gallon of gas per hour.
SEADOG organizers believe the unit will alleviate one of the most challenging aspects of deploying aid to a disaster-stricken airport–ensuring basic communications to and from the site. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, SEADOG coordinated efforts to several airports hit by the storm, including New Orleans Louis Armstrong and Gulfport-Biloxi. Communications in the region were crippled, and when federal agencies brought in their own communications units, they weren’t necessarily there for anyone and everyone to use. The SEADOG communications trailer is available to deploy within 12 hours to any public-use airport, and will be an asset for all once on site, SEADOG organizers stress.
Topics: misc |
Comments