FAYETTE, Ohio — Made up of over 70 full-time members and 200 overall, the Fulton County Amateur Radio Club is being called upon to be an assistant for local emergency medical services across the county on the day of the total solar eclipse.
Using amateur, or ham radios, to provide alternative radio frequencies, the group was founded in 1954 with the continuous goal of creating excitement about the hobby while also serving the communities of Fulton County.
But on April 8, the group is being called upon to help out.
"We've realized the large influx of people and the stress on communication and the resources within our own community," William McConnell, assistant police chief of the Fayette Police Department said. "So there's been many, many months of preparation that the EMA office has done."
That stress has resulted in the Fulton County Emergency Management Agency making the radio club a part of their plans for the eclipse. In fact, the two, along with the Fayette Police Department, went through training together on Saturday.
It's vital to club president Bryan Patterson that they are a part of the communication plans because with a heavy increase in expected population to the area, cell phone towers and other communication transmitters could be overwhelmed.
"If the current radio system would, god forbid, happen to go down, we can provide adequate communication for things like deploying ambulances and emergency runs and stuff like this," Patterson said.
Also for Patterson, this is a chance to remind Fulton County and all of northwest Ohio of just how important a simple radio can still be to daily life.
"We've been trying to integrate ourselves better into the community for public service events and get the name of amateur radio out there, and remind everybody that we are still a relevant part of communications and protection for the community," Patterson said.