They Came From Opposite Corners of the Country to Help

by Lin McNulty

Sprint guys Michael Katterhenry (l) Casey Mullenburg (r) Photo: Lin McNulty

The Sprint Emergency Response Team sprinted to action and came to Orcas Island, bringing with them COLTs to help with the recent telephone outage.

Casey Mullenburg, Seattle, Michael Katterhenry from Orlando Florida, and Cary Snyder, from Dallas Texas, arrived on Orcas on Saturday and set up a SATCOLT (Satellite Cell on Light Truck) system at the Orcas Library to enable islanders without internet or phone service to connect. They continued their service on Monday, and at one time, says Mullenburg, “I counted at least 20 cars in the parking lot.” The Library was closed; folks were coming to utilize the services.

The Sprint Emergency Response Team responds where and when needed to provide additional network capacity in an emergency situation. They have the ability to put up either an IP, wi-fi, or cellular bubble coverage in a specific area, through a satellite back-haul.

“That’s what sets us apart from other carriers,” noted Mullenburg. Other carriers have COWs (Cell on Wheels) along with COLT systems, but need landline or microwave to provide service.

The Sprint system is totally self-contained with generators and all equipment necessary to provide service for three to seven days on generator without refueling.

WA Emergency Management Department reached out on Tuesday afternoon to the Sprint team requesting they connect with Brendan Cowan in San Juan County DEM.  The biggest issue at that point was CenturyLink thought divers would be able to do a quick fix. CenturyLink thought they had it under control. Then the weather changed.

By Thursday at about 7p.m., Cowan again connected with Sprint and said “we need you guys.” Mulllenburg activated the team, which required Klatterhenry coming from Florida and Snyder from Texas. They flew into California to grab their SATCOLT and drive it to the San Juans.

After spending one day on San Juan, Saturday, they were assured that Friday Harbor was back up and running. At the request, then, of Dave Halloran, they came to Orcas and set up shop in the library parking lot.

It must be noted that this service is being provided at no cost to the County or the community; it’s all being done on Sprint’s dime. Because there has not been a Federal- or State-declared emergency, this is considered by Sprint to be an in-kind donation to our community.

Their team motto is “When Communications Are Critical.” They each note that community response has been great and they receive a good sense of helping.

The team was originally created in 2002 as a direct response to 9/11, when it was discovered that all cabling went under the Trade Center. At that time, it was NexTel and they worked with “bandaids, bubble gum, and duct tape” to establish communications. There was no way, then, to do what they are doing now. They began to text, they vetted, they developed systems and then Hurricane Katrina happened and they were called into full duty.

Since 2002, the 19-member team has been deployed over 6,000 times.

When not working on an actual emergency or disaster, the team is involved in extensive training exercises with DoD, FEMA, and other state and federal agencies, was well as ongoing R&D, testing, and upgrades. Each team member has his/her own specialty; the team is hand-picked for skill levels and there is no discernible turnover.

“We train the way we are going to fight,” says Mullenberg. “We like to get involved in the training and co-worker relationship ahead of time. We don’t want to have to get behind firewalls and other built-in security at the time of disaster.”

These particular team members have worked together before—the tornado in Moore OK, Hurricane Sandy, and the Presidential Inauguration. Four of five boroughs in NY came back up after Sandy because of Sprint.

They will continue to provide communications in the Library parking lot through tomorrow. If you drop by, give them a big thanks not only because they love what they do, but because we also love what they do.