Support to Local Communities

Cambridgeshire Raynet is a voluntary community-based group, initially set up to provide communications by radio in times of emergency or crisis when traditional methods such as landlines, cellphones and/or internet don't work. We can work alone or in conjunction with emergency services (See our Exercises pages). We provide our own equipment along with trained and experienced operators who are used to passing messages and helping co-ordinate efforts when situations are stressful or confused.

We have a range of equipment available such as hand-held radios (some of which we can lend out when necessary), vehicle-mounted radios or equipment at fixed bases throughout the county. This means that we can cover communications both inside an affected area as well as reaching outside the area to those who need to pass information back and forth. Our own incident control vehicle ('Flossie' - right) provides an operating base with its own power, long-range capabilities and also the potential of internet access via satellite: invaluable when broadband internet has failed in an area.

We are also fortunate in Cambridgeshire to have a reasonably extensive set of 'repeaters': radio systems mounted on high masts with wide area coverage, instantaneously relaying voice messages between stations which otherwise cannot reach each other directly. Some of the repeaters are resilient in the face of wide-area power outage.

Our membership is drawn from various walks of life, some with a professional background in communications, others hobbyists with a leisure interest in the topic but keen to help when called upon. We can sometimes be found assisting at non-commercial community activities such as fund-raising walks or sporting events.

Because of our interest in providing crisis/emergency support, our members take a more detailed interest in community resilience than the average citizen. This leads us to participate actively at a planning level with the statutory Civil Resilience body the Cambridge and Peterborough Resilience Forum^[1] and also to engage with grass-roots resilience groups which are starting to emerge.

UK Government nowadays appears to recognise that societal resilience is an all-of-society effort and can't be catered for just through statutory bodies. Some countries already have well-developed local support for emergencies as a result of years of planning and preparation, the UK is arguably somewhat lagging in this respect. Local examples of schemes sponsored to become more prepared include groups at Alconbury and also St Ives. An embryonic community effort to replicate those is also starting in Ely.

Building resilient local communities doesn't happen overnight and Raynet's unique skill set can only be a small part of it. Ideally many other statutory and voluntary bodies will participate too. For those wishing to do it, perhaps Raynet's specific interests, advice and connections can help smooth the way.

We welcome enquiries from potential future members (no prior skill necessary) and and anyone who has a community spirit and an interest in building personal or group resilience.

References

1. ^{^} Cambridge and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum