HAM Radio Saves a Life

Karl Tso and wife Deborah Ava put their HAM radio training to use last weekend on Catalina Island.

The recently-trainer volunteer radio operators rescued a man after he fell more than 40 feet onto rocks below, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant said.

Tso and Ava, both of Topanga, are members of the Topanga Disaster Radio Team. The team is a part of the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness.

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The couple had climbed a hill on Catalina Island to check out a repeater when they saw a 61-year-old man bleeding and moaning. He fell more than 40 feet onto rocks.

Tso and Ava had their hand-held HAM radios with them. They used the equipment to make contact with other HAM radio operators on the mainland, who called 911 to report the emergency.

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After HAM radio operators on the mainland called 911, Los Angeles County firefighter-medics responded and the unidentified injured man was flown by helicopter to St Mary's Hospital in Long Beach that night for treatment.

The couple's quick thinking and knowledge of HAM radio frequencies helped save the injured man's life, deputies said.