Safety of importance for 9-11 Memorial Ride
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(Editor's Note: The annual Lycoming County 9-11 Memorial Ride requires more planning, coordination, cooperation and effort than anyone can imagine. The highly-anticipated and supported ride brings together several thousand motorcyclists each year. Williamsport Sun-Gazette is offering a series of articles on what is required to ensure riders get home safe and sound, and that the purpose of the ride -- to never forget the events of 9-11 -- echoes loudly in the minds and hearts of the citizens of Lycoming County.)
Communication never ceases before, during and after the 9-11 Memorial Ride, although afterwards, the riders celebrate the moment to have some refreshments at host Clinton Township Fire Co.
The Montgomery Emergency Management vehicle also called an Incident Management Unit (IMU), in a surprising twist of fate was actually at Shanksville, site of the crash of United Flight 98 on 9-11.
The IMU is tied into the county phone system and township phones, said Todd Winder, township fire company, chief.
"We have communications all day long that they are keeping track of," he said.
Anything that is on that route whether it's a fire, or hose across the road, our guys are in communication with the sheriff and county 911," he said.
The emergency personnel here know where the motorcyclists' column is at, when it is leaving a certain community, and where it will be next.
Winder described the communication before, during and after the ride as similar to what used to happen at Montgomery borough, when the Conrail trail went across a bridge between Montgomery and Watsontown.
The train engineer would say 'No defects!' meaning that the track was clear for the train.
"You knew that all of the cars were on the track and there would be no delay or derailments," Winder said.
For the ride all the fire police units are on the same frequency and coordinate with the 911 Center, so if they have to stop the column, if there's an incident whether it be a shooting, an accident or if a fire requires laying hose across the line of a road because of a fire.
There was one ride year that there was a threat of someone with a gun.
During the ride police officers could not get across the column and what happened was the police were breaking into the column.
That glitch was rectified.
The 9-11 Memorial Coalition meets with law enforcement after the ride to go over what went right and what went wrong.