Fischer awarded DCS Volunteer of the Year

Lancaster – On Friday, May 27, 2022, Lancaster Sheriff’s Station hosted their annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. Tom Fischer is shown here with his DCS Volunteer of the Year award and his flags which were out honoring the lost on Memorial Day 2022. Fischer was taken by complete surprise with the award.

DCS is Disaster Communications Services. Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service is a volunteer organization administered by the Sheriff's Department for the County Board of Supervisors. The responsibility of DCS, as authorized under County Ordinance, is to provide volunteer disaster relief communications for the citizens of the County of Los Angeles. Over 300 Amateur Radio operators, operating their personally owned two-way radios, in conformance with the Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, donate their time and equipment at no cost to the citizens of the County of Los Angeles. Amateur Radio equipment installed at each Sheriff's Station is owned by the County, as is a mountain top repeater station and a mobile command trailer. All other equipment is owned by individual members or by volunteer organizations formed by DCS member.

Fischer explained, “DCS supports LASD with ham radios. We provide information from the ham radio communities such as CERT, ARES and so forth. I have been with DCS for 14 years. There was an opening for leadership known as the Zero One position. I was encouraged to take the position, District Communications Officer. I accepted the challenge since I always wanted to be a conduit between the radio communications groups.

“We have 9 local AV members. Once a week we do communication exercises making contact with all of the Sheriff’s stations in the County via ham radio. Locally we use a forest service repeater to communicate. Both Palmdale and Lancaster Stations have ham radio gear and antennae that cover most of the Antelope Valley without the use of a repeater.

“Members use their own equipment to create these communication links. During Covid we had to communicate from members’ home stations.”

As of December 2021, Tom Fischer who organized CERT in LLA and has served on the LLA CERT since 2006, passed the CERT leadership torch on to Raymond E. Harrell II as Lake Los Angeles’ CERT Team Captain.

By , Shirley Harriman