Endorsed by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services

Your support helps pay electrical costs and cover maintenance of radio towers and equipment. We ask FNRW participants to consider donating $20 (tax deductible through the Fiddletown Community Center) a year to help cover these costs. Additional donations always appreciated.



Fiddletown Neighborhood Radio Watch is a group of neighbors who alert each other about impending fires and other emergencies.

What is a Neighborhood
 Radio Watch Group?

  • People like you, trained to communicate official and eyewitness emergency information.
  • Radio owners instantly hear shared information upon which to make evacuation and other decisions.
  • We use inexpensive GMRS
    radios, similar to walkie- talkies, but with the power to travel many miles over mountainous terrain.
  • GMRS radios work when Cell Phones go down.

Getting started

We’re in the news!

Channel 13 (CBS)  captured the FNRW group in action at Amador County’s SmokeChasers event this May.

Want to know more?

Contact Us!

RadioWatch@Fiddletowncc.org

Neighborhood Radio Watch Programs ARE NOT a replacement for Emergency Services such as Police, Fire, the Sheriff’s Office or 911.

If you see a fire or incident, call 911 first, then alert others using your radio.

The Signal App Text Group

Two Reasons to Sign Up for Signal

Sign up for Signal to receive texts for emergency communications and for the Fire Wise Community Application process.

The FireSafe Fiddletown Signal App Group is a free, easy group text application that enables different phone owners—iPhone, Android–to share information about a fire or other emergencies when cell reception is available. Signal is highly encrypted and protects private data.

How to join a Signal App Group:

  1. Download Signal App onto your phone. (https://signal.org/download/)
  2. Click the pencil icon in the upper-right corner and enter “FireSafe Fiddletown” in the search field,
    or “Fiddletown Fire Wise Community Application”
    or invite me, Kate Dougherty 925-285-3310.

    TIP: Search for my phone number so that I can invite you to both Fiddletown text groups:
    FireSafeFiddletown 
    Fiddletown Fire Wise Community Application

  3. TIP: Add a different ring tone to alert you when the group is active.

For more instructions, see:
How To Join A Group Call On Signal For Android Tutorial – Bing video
How To Join A Group Call On Signal For iPhone Tutorial – Bing video
Having issues joining the group? Wait a few minutes and try joining again, or try these additional tips: Why Can’t I Join a Group on Signal? – Technipages

For more questions, please contact Kate Dougherty at radiowatch@fiddletowncc.org

Thank you for your interest. FYI we are having growing pains with the signal app so please be patient.  
–Kate 

Why We Matter: FNRW in action

The FNRW launched in August 2021, distributing 45 GMRS radios to local members three days before the Caldor Fire broke out. Our group was aware of the fire just minutes after it broke out on Saturday August 14, 2021.

Due to radio communications, many in the group evacuated their homes well ahead of orders to go, greatly assisting evacuation efforts.

Another incident occurred when a power line caused a fire and the property owner called 9-1-1, then he used a water tender on his property to put the fire out on his own.

A member of our radio group was monitoring his radio scanner and heard the call from Cal Fire that they were responding. That member put this message out on his GMRS radio for others to be aware of the incident. Within minutes another radio member who lives close to the fire heard that call and grabbed his radio and gave us a report that the fire had been extinguished and all was well. This all happened before the fire department arrived on the scene.

FNRW Meeting Minutes

FNRW Operating Information

 

Fiddletown Neighborhood Radio Watch THANK YOU

A huge “thank you” to Riebes Napa Auto Parts Amador County who donated six batteries to use as backups for both the Red Mule Repeater and Cobble Ridge Repeater. This generous donation (worth approximately $700) have enabled the repeaters to continue working even during an outage or when the generator is unavailable.  Thank you again for all you do to keep us safe and informed!