Emergency Communication
for Amateur Radio
- Basics -
Latest Update: 05/20/05
Release:
5.3
Rationale
The ARRL board of directors passed a resolution stating that their
program for Emergency Service within Amateur Radio was a registered
trade mark and that as such EVERY printed and soft copy document
for the Emergency Service affiliated with them using either the
acronym or phrase MUST have the "R" in a circle (indicating registered
trade mark) included. Further, they also claim ownership of EVERY
document that has that RTM indication.
I decline the opportunity to update over one hundred web pages to
come into compliance with their directions. Further I decline to have
documentation that I developed, without compensation, become the
property of the ARRL if I use either their acronym or phrase.
Therefore, ALL references in this document to any organization or
group that provides communication services using Amateur Radio will
be known as ECom. This will include the RACES organization but will
note when there is a difference in who the individual operator will
report to. For example, in some situations the operator will need to
notify his/her Emergency Coordinator (EC) whereas the RACES operator
will report to their RACES Officer (RO).
- W0IPL
This material may be copied and freely distributed - as long as no
money is derived from its use! If you make money from any of this,
send me half. - W0IPL
Enough of the crap. Now for some information.
Introduction
ECom Release 5.3 is the next step in the evolution of Emergency
Communication (ECom) material.
The first segment is orientation,
to supply the student with appropriate background information in
such items as: terminology, service, attitude,
RACES, Served Agencies, and personal preparation.
The second segment includes: safety, basics of communication, nets,
traffic handling, personal equipment, modes of operation, call-out
process and debriefing.
The third segment is an overview of the Incident Command System (ICS).
Table of Contents
Orientation
- ECom - Emergency Communication
Supplemental
Communication provided to our served agencies by ECom operators when
served agency communications are overloaded or insufficient to
handle the needs of the event or incident.
- ECom Operators - Amateur Radio operators,
trained in emergency communication (a.k.a.)
Group of Hams that have volunteered to train in communication
for use by local Public Service (CSP, OEM, SO, PD, Fire,
etc.) during times of emergency.
- RACES - Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
Licensed Amateurs that have met the qualifications, been approved,
and then registered with a local or state Civil Defense organization
(now typically called The Office of Emergency Management [OEM]).
RACES operators are only activated by an OEM organization.
- Incident
Any planned or unplanned occurrence, regardless of cause, which
requires action by emergency service personnel to prevent or
minimize loss of life or damage to property and/or natural resources,
i.e. not training.
- Event
Any planned activity that is non
emergency in nature where ECom communicators are used to assist
charitable organizations or public service groups with
communications, or ECom training exercises.
This includes such occurrences as the annual S.E.T. and other more
specific training.
Note: Events run under ICS will often have "incident"
names but will be referred to as "events" in this document because
they are scheduled.
ECom is an opportunity to provide the public service community with
trained Amateur Radio operators who will have a consistent level of
expertise in Emergency Communication. It is evident that there are
areas in the U.S. that have few opportunities to train operators in
disaster communication, while other areas have far more than any would
wish. This program will provide consistency in technical training where
ever the person lives.
The goal of this document is to provide consistently knowledgeable
communication people who have a very positive, service oriented attitude.
Unfortunately, there are persons in the Amateur Radio community that
believe we are there because we have a "right" to participate. The
opposite is actually true. We are welcomed by the public service
community only to serve their communication needs. We are there
only at their pleasure and to provide a service. In fact, our very
existence is only to provide for their needs.
We provide the public service community supplemental
communication when their systems are overloaded.
We:
- Do not run the event or incident!
- Keep good records.
- Practice by helping charitable organizations.
The first item you will need to remember in communications for
a served agency is do not speculate. Let me repeat,
do not speculate on anything relating to an emergency. There may be
hundreds of people listening to what you say (amateur operators, Media
and Public - via scanners) and any incorrect information could cause
panic. If your served agency tells you they want an estimate, you may
provide that information, so long at you make it very clear in the
message that it is an estimate. For example -
"Estimated number of spare shovels at fire base three is twelve."
would be acceptable.
Before we go further into the ECom material it is helpful
to understand record keeping. While most people find record keeping
distasteful it does serve a necessary purpose during events
and is essential during incidents. If a served agency person comes
over and asks when thus-and-such was handled, how will you answer?
When you keep accurate logs of everything your location does the answer
is easy. Look in your log and give them the information they
requested. But, you say, what if it is not in my log?
Easy, call the location that has the correct log and get the required
information.
The following set of forms are suggestions for a starting point
with information collection. If your group has their own forms, use
them! These are for areas that have not developed their own and are
a starting point only. Each served agency has unique requirements.
Build your own forms to handle your served agency(ies) needs.
If your group does not have any predisposition toward one form or
another, the preference would be to use ICS forms. The reasoning is
simple, if you use ICS forms then any interaction with your served
agency is in/on a form that they are familiar with. This saves
confusion and expedites communication.
If your group uses, or is thinking of using ICS forms you can go
to Google on the internet and search for "ICS Forms" (with the quotes)
to get links to a large number of sources for the ICS forms you may need.
A person having just completed basic training as a fire fighter
is not going to be expected by the public, his peers, or his
superiors to be as well suited to all aspects of the job as
one who has undergone additional training above the basic level.
Field experience added to on-going training are what make a
good firefighter. Why then is it that many of the Amateur Radio
fraternity feel that having an operator's license automatically
makes them an asset to public safety communications? Unfortunately,
this attitude is held by many amateurs and is an example of
something in need of change. A driving license grants one the
privilege of driving upon the public streets and highways.
It does not entitle the person to drive a heavy truck for hire.
It is the requirement of on-going training and experience that
produces a qualified operator.
Nothing in the course of study from Technician to Extra Class Amateur
License, makes anyone an emergency communications expert,
or even an asset to the public safety. Unless a person is willing
to undertake on-going training and thus gain experience, and to
subject himself to accepted standards of conduct and discipline,
the license serves only as minim requirement for operation. In matters
of emergency communications, this means you are expected to know far
more than just how to hook up and use a radio transmitter and antenna.
You must also know how to communicate using the minimum number of
words, operate in a directed net - without slowing the net yet
without being in a hurry, something of how to conduct yourself
concerning sensitive communications, dealing with the press, your
limitations as well as your assets. If you expect to be dumped into
the middle of a forest fire to provide emergency communications to
professional and volunteer fire crews, then you need to know
at least the basics of fire fighting, how it relates to your
own safety, that of the public at large, and the other members of
the team. In short, you may think you are the best communicator in
the world, but if you expect to be placed in the thick of it, you
might want to know which way the wind is blowing!
Before you begin the technical material involved in learning about
Emergency Communication (ECom) it is imperative that you understand
your knowledge in ECom is not actually as important as your
attitude, during emergencies.
Yes, technical ability will enable you to do a far better job of
communicating. But your attitude will determine the success of the
overall Amateur Radio effort. The person who brings a "know it all"
or "Cowboy" attitude will only hamper relations with served agencies.
The people you will be serving - remember that word - are
professionals that have seen far too many people more interested in
impressing someone than in getting the job done. You will actually
impress them far more by being as quiet as you can and doing your job
well. Results, without interference of served agency people, will
cement relations with your served agency. Our served agencies also
respond well when we take a positive attitude and relate what we
can do rather than what we can't do.
Please keep in mind that Amateur Radio is a hobby.
However, ECom is a commitment! Simply stated, ECom
requires an explicit mental commitment to help others.
Please read that again. A commitment to help others. To be effective
in ECom you will be required to expend significant effort and time in
training and practice. Many
say "I did that before, so I don't need to practice." This is not true.
It will take time, a lot of time, if you are to be successful. If you
are willing to spend that time, WELCOME!
Hams are patriotic, independent people and they are volunteers.
The attitude among a few hams is that 'Volunteers don't
have to take orders.' That's absolutely correct. We
don't have to take orders. But if you are not
ready to follow instructions, you may want to do something
outside of ECom!
Do not adjust, play with or fiddle with any piece of equipment
in use for an incident, during that incident, unless it is
malfunctioning. Remember, an incident scene is not about radios
and being a Ham, it IS about the incident and YOU will either be part
of the solution or you become part of the problem.
Dual Membership and its advantages
Unlike what they started teaching you in grade school, "your"
group is not "better" than any other group or organization simply
because it exists. That concept was presented to you to foster
competition and competition for competition's sake between ECom
groups can easily become detrimental to what we are there to do.
Each organization has specific advantages and disadvantages
depending on the circumstances. To be most effective as an ECom
operator you need to be registered with all of the active ECom
organizations in your area. This allows you to be effective in
those circumstances that will hinder one or the other organization
(more detail to follow).
RACES originated as a Federal Government program designed to use
Amateur Radio operators and equipment scattered throughout the
community as a ready resource in the event of War. It has now
expanded to include many types of incidents including Floods, Fires
and other types of natural disasters as well as terror incidents.
RACES is comprised of two parts:
- Specially designated FCC-licensed RACES stations and
- Amateur Radio operators registered with civil defense
organizations as a pool of community volunteers authorized to
operate in the RACES service upon a declaration of an emergency
by civil defense authorities.
Amateur Radio operators are encouraged to register with their
civil defense organization to be available to operate under
FCC Part 97.407 in the event the President invoked an emergency
under the War Emergency Powers of 1934. However, RACES operators may
also respond to emergencies declared by civil defense authorities.
During RACES operations in wartime, only RACES stations may
communicate with other RACES stations.
RACES stations or Amateur Radio operators enrolled in civil
defense organizations cannot begin RACES operations until
specifically authorized by the civil defense organization for the
area served. As such, RACES Amateur Radio operators cannot begin
conducting advisory and preparatory nets before an activation, nor
can they continue relief operations after official civil defense
authorization/operations has concluded.
Non RACES ECom operators can respond to situations that may not draw
the attention of civil defense organizations. For example, if a local
hospital's PBX phone system fails, ECom operators can respond and
provide essential radio communications within the hospital complex.
Even using employees with cellular and wireless telephones, wireless
phone service would be overwhelmed with the volume of required calls.
Amateurs stationed at key locations within the hospital could assist
staff in dispatching and routing of personnel. A hospital's phone
system problem would not warrant intervention by civil defense
authorities nor the activation of RACES as it does not directly
involve government services or affect overall community welfare.
During these times, Amateur Radio operators organized under ECom
can operate and serve as trained individuals to effect emergency
communications. ECom operators can initiate nets and operations
ahead of formal RACES activations and can continue to operate
providing relief, health and welfare communications after the formal
RACES operations concludes.
In summary, RACES may not be activated to respond to every
emergency situation. Similarly, ECom operators will not be allowed
to operate in RACES nets activated by the OEM, unless registered with
the Office of Emergency Management as RACES. In many instances,
identification issued by civil defense authorities may be required to
access areas affected by the emergency. It is therefore prudent to
enroll and serve with both programs to retain the flexibility to fully
respond as the situation evolves.
Amateurs are encouraged to register with more than one organization.
For example, a person can sign up in ECom, RACES and SKYWARN
without much difficulty or overlap. A person should declare his/her
primary served agency -- the one which he/she will develop and respond
to in the event of an emergency. However, during times of non-emergency,
they would be able to assist a peer organization in the development
of their program, education and training efforts and special events.
If during a given emergency the primary served agency is not activated,
the individual is free to report to any agency needing assistance.
Who is in charge?
This must be decided via MOUs and agreed upon amongst the leadership
BEFORE an emergency develops. SOP calls for each organization to
maintain a roster, noting which persons are signed up on a primary
basis to work with that group. The choice of the primary served
agency is up to the individual operator, as he/she is in the best
position to determine his/her availability given his/her work,
home and family situation. The ideal situation is where every operator
is a member of both groups. This provides maximum flexibility and
assures full coverage as the situation changes.
Procedure calls for each agency to determine which frequency(ies)
they will monitor for calls, and notify other agencies and nets
which frequencies are being monitored for this incident.
Frequencies for net operations should be coordinated on an area
basis amongst the leadership and worked out ahead of time. The
leadership must keep in mind that no situation is perfect during
an emergency and variations in the arrangements are expected as
adjustments are made due to the situation, the condition of
equipment, propagation, operators and agencies involved.
REMEMBER an emergency is about providing SERVICE, not about
which organization is in charge or who will get credit!.
Overall objectives, priorities and decisions to be made by the
ICS command team. The IC should be clearly identified and changes
in lead commanders should be noted and communicated as the situation
evolves. The focus must be to align communications to anticipate
and keep pace with the changes in overall emergency operations as
required by the command team. Quality leadership in the communications
groups recognize this and will coordinate their efforts amongst the
groups to assure coverage and continuity.
Keeping our served agencies happy may seem a daunting task but if
we keep a few items in mind it will be far easier than most imagine.
First is to be concise in our communication
(see Communication Guidelines in segment two
for details). That is to say, use as few words as possible to
completely describe anything we need to communicate about,
and no more.
Other considerations are:
If you arrive at the scene of an emergency just as the sirens are
quieting, keep your mouth shut and get out of the way! We do not
provide first aid, transport victims, provide traffic control or
any other function normally provided by public service agencies.
We DO provide communication when public service systems are
overloaded.
As a group we will, in many cases, do more than "just" communicate.
You as an ECom operator are free to do any work for the
served agency that they request of you, as long as you are comfortable
doing that work AND it does not hinder your ability to communicate.
Emergency communications involves both amateurs and non-amateurs
alike. Emergency communicators must have the equipment, skill and
knowledge to improvise additional communications capacity in very
short order. In all of this, leadership, teamwork and initiative
are key factors to success!
When you are working any event please understand that you are there
to help the served agency with a communications shortfall. This, in
and of itself, is embarrassing to some agencies. If you keep that fact
in mind, you can eliminate confusion and problems by acknowledging that
the served agency runs the event. Not just by your words, but by your
actions.
The largest problem that Amateur Radio has is operators that go into
an event and try to take over. Cowboy and "wanna-be" behavior WILL
discourage the served agency from ever using Amateur Radio services
again. In some cases it has resulted in the Amateur Radio operator
involved being arrested and removed from the scene.
During an event do your best to maintain a courteous,
professional image. You may be working with several agencies
including police, fire, first aid squads, National Guard, etc.
Extend every possible courtesy to members of these groups. Make
sure they know who you are, and what your communications
capabilities are. You must remember our primary mission is to
communicate, not to provide other public safety support.
Most if not all Public Service agencies use some form of the
Incident Command System (ICS) as the model for operations during an
emergency. You will help your served agency and your ECom
group if you understand how the Incident Command
System works.
Dealing with the media/public: During an emergency do NOT
make any statement(s) to the media/public about the
emergency! The Public Information Officer (PIO) for
the agency being served will make ALL statements.
You can discuss non detailed
information about Amateur Radio if you have time and they ask.
Do NOT include mode, frequency or traffic-volume information, and
above all, NEVER RELATE INJURY, FATALITY OR DAMAGE information to
the media without explicit instructions from the primary
served agency!
Each served agency will have its own - unique - communication
system. It is in the best interests of both served agency(ies) and
ECom group to discuss and understand what your local served
agency uses. While you discuss the communications they use, ask
what - if any - requirements they may have for Amateur Radio operators
to operate the served agency system and what unique knowledge these
operators will need.
Education and training is what supplies the knowledge to help you
build confidence in your ability to execute the required steps in the
shortest amount of time and with the minimum amount of wasted motion.
Hesitancy and indecisiveness will quickly tire you, as you are expending
more mental energy than required, which will soon dull your senses.
Thus, you educate yourself and train before the skills are needed.
Education and training helps you function as part of the team.
Emergency communicators are part of an adaptive team that can rely
on and support one another. All members must function as a cohesive
unit. Individuals may possess great operating skills but will perform
inadequately if they cannot work as part of a team.
Find an organization active in developing emergency communicators.
Find an ECom, RACES or similar program in your community. You may
ask at your local Amateur Radio club meeting if you do not know of
any organization in your area.
Contact your local ECom group and volunteer. You can be of help to
these organizations by training in the disciplines needed for
appropriate communication. Training in Emergency Communications
BEFORE you are needed will help you develop the skills necessary to
be an effective ECom communicator.
- Undergo an educational/training program
You may have to UN-learn some things you thought you knew
There are many false concepts on emergency communications due to
impressions that are not based on actual field experience. Some of the
most important emergency communications operating principles differ
significantly from traditional daily Amateur Radio practices. These
because emergency communication requires a network of message relay
stations to be built from scratch and operating within minutes or
very few hours of an activation. Building a communication network
is not done routinely by amateur operators in the normal course of
enjoying the pastime. It is important to seek out educational material
that is based on sound practices refined with actual field experience.
Be open to learning new material, and the rationale of why it works.
Unlike individual Amateur Radio operators operating from a single
station at home or in the mobile, emergency communications involves
radio operators forming teams and relaying messages using both
similar and dissimilar techniques simultaneously. Knowledgeable
emergency communicators know very well that it's not a case of
choosing which method is the "one-size-fits-all method" for
getting the job done but rather that it's a mix of techniques,
whichever is appropriate for that particular message. These radio
operators must work well and integrate with their host emergency
management agency. While the lower levels of the operations may
resemble and borrow from our personal experience as Amateur Radio
technicians and operators, it requires personal growth to operate
in a challenging an environment such as the one that develops
during an emergency.
- Emergency Management
- Learn about the Incident Command System.
- Learn about the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
- Learn about emergency management agencies in your area.
- Learn about how disaster declarations are escalated from the
county mayor or local official(s), to the state governor, to the
nation's president -- paving the way for outside relief and aid.
- Learn about how requests for mutual aid are handled
within your community during a disaster.
- Find out about the notification/activation tree for
emergency communicators and sign-up as a team member.
- It's highly recommended to take a first aid course.
It's knowledge you can use anytime, anywhere.
- Equip yourself
- Get a NOAA Weather Radio with digital SAME alert.
Program it with the FIPS code for your area.
- Put together a quick deployment bag (A.K.A. GoBag) with your spare
radio equipment, antennas, coax, clipboard, pens, IDs, etc. Place
your checklist of last minute items (fresh batteries, water, etc) into
the bag as well.
- Put together a 72 hour pack, useful for both field
deployment and emergency evacuation.
- Learn about Emergency Communications Procedures
- Practice checking into and out of nets. Practice
operating in a net.
- Practice becoming Net Control.
- Practice sending and receiving ARRL Radiogram messages.
- Participate in a tactical network such as a parade, marathon,
or bicycle event.
- Learn about Emergency Communications Equipment
- Learn and practice HF techniques.
- Learn and practice
NVIS antenna setup and function.
- Learn and practice VHF/UHF simplex techniques.
- Learn and practice Packet Radio and other digital modes.
- Existing programs at the local level
- Check with your local ECom official (SEC, DEC, EC, AEC, etc).
- Check with your local Amateur Radio clubs.
- Check with your local agency - Civil Defense, American
Red Cross, National Weather Service, Salvation Army, etc.
- Check with your local church, county or state-wide
denomination.
One key to the success of emergency communications is the amount
of education, training and preparedness prior to the event.
By learning, practicing and evaluating prior to the emergency, the
overall level of proficiency is raised.
During activation and operation the time to develop one's skills
and knowledge is limited or non-existent, yet this is the time when
having that knowledge and experience makes the most difference.
Practicing emergency communications is best approached as a team
effort scheduled on evenings or weekends and not during an actual
emergency.
There are a number of ways to develop knowledge and to practice.
The best way is to learn from the experiences of other emergency
communicators, taking the best techniques and avoiding pitfalls
that abound in any setting.
When you go out on a real emergency there are several things you
need to understand.
- Expect confusion. When we respond to a field assignment, our
served
agencies are getting their response organized and are often being pulled in a
number of directions. Expect that some people won't know why you're there,
what it is that you are supposed to do, and whom you're doing it for.
- Be flexible. Because of the confusion, we must always remain
flexible and convey to those we are serving that we are here to help.
Our AECs attempt to have location directions and contact names for
each field assignment before our ECom member goes mobile, but this
isn't always possible. Sometimes our function is clearly defined and
understood, other times it isn't. Remaining flexible reduces your
stress level and proves to our served agencies that you are a team
player.
- Know your audience. We contrast arriving to a field
assignment
as either Rambo or an attorney. Neither is good. Don't overdress nor
look sloppy, try to look the part that's required. Outfit yourself as
is appropriate for the situation. For example, don't arrive to assist
the base camp of a wildfire in short pants and a tank top, you might
be asked to leave because your clothing choices could put you in danger.
Stop for a moment, consider your assignment and who you will be
assisting, and make appropriate clothing and appearance choices. Don't
arrive like you just crawled out from beneath a rock, always look
clean and well kept.
- Be aware of your first impressions. Some of us are shy, some
are outgoing. Some are demure, others are outspoken. Know how others
perceive you and adjust your character as needed for the situation.
If you are a shy and quite individual, know that you might have to
be bold to find the official or area you have been assigned to assist.
If you are typically loud and outspoken, look around you, you might
need to tone it down. If you are assigned to a Police/Fire
dispatch center, loud talking and bold action are not going to be
appreciated by the dispatchers who are assisting citizens with
emergency needs.
Skill is needed for handling multiple concurrent activities
that can arise during emergencies. The very nature of responding
to an emergency affords very little in the way of on-the-spot
education and training. Hence it is vital that the education, training
and practice occur ahead of time. Coping with equipment problems,
people requesting attention and a response, listening for a station
with a weak and distorted signal, all while trying to absorb
the situation and direct a team effort on and off the air are
real-life situations that can occur. Fortunately, there are ways
to learn and practice in a broader setting that are enjoyable.
Simulations, exercises and practice nets are proven ways to bring
together these elements in a non-threatening and fun environment,
developing the composure and skills, provide analysis and feedback
and gain new confidence to rise above any situation.
Amateur Radio operators are always in search of new knowledge,
equipment and operating opportunities. The learning and training
sessions leading up to the simulations and exercises are excellent
ways for specialists to introduce the rest of the team to new modes
or techniques. There are a number of things you can arrange to try
out and practice before the exercise, then test the team's proficiency
during the event. Try alternate frequency and communications modes,
such as simplex (non-repeater) operations, SSB where FM modes are
prevalent, Near-Vertical Incident Skywave (
NVIS
) for local HF coverage,
satellite for reliable long-haul coverage, packet, and digital modes
for passing message text.
Simulations offer a safe environment for being an NCS or
liaison/relay station. Operators are trying out their skill
and just as in practicing for team sports, an occasional procedural
error or two offers an avenue for review, learning and improvement.
Practice removes the fear, uncertainty and anxiety of doing something
you have not done before. Just that calming effect you feel afterwards
with that sense of accomplishment is worth the experience.
The National Traffic System is an excellent vehicle for practice at
relaying large volumes of messages in a timely and coordinated
fashion. NTS stations practice originating, relaying and delivering
messages (collectively called traffic) quickly and efficiently. The
skills honed with NTS experience removes the hesitation and mishandling
that can happen when faced with having to pass traffic.
- Public Service Events
Public service events are another setting where emergency
communicators can practice teamwork and build their confidence.
Many public service events involve operators supporting and
coordinating outdoor events such as parades or community fun runs
communicating between each other using handy talkies. These outdoor
operators are typically supported by Net Control Stations and/or
relay stations using portable/mobile stations. Public service events
are excellent settings for practicing and refining skills on passing
informal traffic, juggling amongst multiple operating frequencies,
outfitting oneself with radio and personal equipment to comfortably
operate in the field for a sustained period -- all while
enjoying and participating in a community event.
- Lessons Learned on Past Events
Debriefing sessions should be held after each operation to
exchange lessons learned to be used for future operations. Since each
event typically features a new set of operators, the lessons learned
are frequently the same material being conveyed to a new audience. It
is a wise use of time to learn from the experience of others and work
towards mitigating potential gaps and obstacles rather than repeat
their past mistakes.
- Teamwork and Attitude
As the first segment in this course said, the attitude you bring with
you will do more to determine the success of your effort than anything
else. You must, therefore, bring an attitude of helpful cooperation
to every event you participate in. If that is a problem for you, then
I suggest you try something outside of ECom.
- Move the Message Forward
The mission for emergency communicators is to use any available
communication technique available to forward the message to its final
destination. Whether it's via regular telephone, fax, Amateur Radio,
commercial and government radio, Citizens Band, Family Radio Service,
or bicycles; the method is immaterial. What counts is that the message
was delivered in usable form to the recipient in a timely and accurate
fashion so that the recipient could take action.
When you are handling traffic, be sure you do not become myopic
with your effort. The classic example is during a practice session
in Packet, NCS could have one station pass a simulated emergency
message to one of the other packet stations (something like the time
on your watch at that instant). You will be amazed at how many
people will spend the time to format the message in packet to
send it rather than using the microphone to send a voice message
that would be followed up with a packet message.
- Creating an Operating Environment
You will learn to create a new environment where none previously
existed -- and chances are that it won't happen seamlessly on its own.
Recognize and accept this reality. Do not rely upon someone else
to do your preparation. The time prepare yourself for
emergency and disaster situations is now while there
is time to think it through. Purchase what you need with no lines
at the store and assemble things into kits and checklists. Your
single most important item in the field is fresh water (not
beverages such as coffee or soda that will dehydrate you).
There is much written about the topic of personal emergency
preparedness, so further discussion will be deferred.
Don't worry and be distracted by the condition of someone else's
equipment and operational readiness. Since you're already at your
site (or heading to your assignment or evacuation shelter), focus
on your situation first, then deal with other situations as conditions
permit. The better you prepare and the sooner you arrive at your
destination (without speeding), the faster you'll handle
your immediate situation.
While we would like to see everything go smoothly during an emergency,
Murphy tells us that nothing will. Do not wait for someone else to do
your preparation. YOU make it happen. YOU provide
for your education and results. YOU make it go right.
In summary, training activities and community service participation
allow you to try new methods for all communication activities in a
non threatening environment with the added advantage of having fun
while you work at them.
- Remember
- You are emergency communicators, not emergency rescue
personnel
- Keep your Civil Defense, ECom or RACES ID with you at all times.
- Do not impede the work of professional responders
such as fire fighters, police and emergency medical personnel.
- Stay out of the "hot zone" unless instructed.
You don't want to endanger yourself and add yourself to the casualty list.
- Follow the directions of your lead operator or the chain of command.
- You may be required to perform duties beyond just
emergency communications. Remain flexible to respond to the needs
of the situation. But also keep in mind that we are primarily
there to communicate.
- Test your techniques before an exercise or an event.
- If you want to experiment with a new technique or
method, test it before you have a major exercise or event.
You don't need more frustration or embarrassment, so why compound
that chance when the stakes are higher?
- Staging of Resources
Please see the section on Incident Command for a full overview
of ICS.
-
A staging area is exactly what it sounds like. It is a location
where resources are staged and managed prior to being sent into the field.
Separate staging areas might be needed for many reasons:
- Lack of space at the base camp (because it is set up at the trail head
parking lot, and is short on space for heliports, parking, etc.).
- The mission might be geographically spread out over such a great distance
that it makes more sense to marshal some people at a separate staging
area.
- The mission might use unique transportation systems that require their
own specialized staging area (marine support from a dock or harbor, air
support from a landing strip, snow-mobile support from an access trail
not close to the base camp, etc.).
- Characteristics of Staging Areas include:
- Staging areas are managed by the Logistics Section.
- Assets that are mobilized into the field from the Staging Area are
controlled by the Operations Section.
- The staging area can be co-located with the ICS staff at Base Camp.
- If a staging area is not co-located with the ICS staff at Base Camp,
a separate communication system (cell phone, runner, two-way radio) must
be set up between the ICS staff and the staging area.
- Shift rotation and overwork
Radio operators are of value only when they show up at the
operations site. As a result, it's very easy to overwork
the operators that respond if there are fewer than needed. Team
leaders and amateur operators as a whole must recognize this and
anticipate bringing in fresh operators to relieve those on shift.
While most of us are accustomed to working in an office or similar
environment for eight hour days, radio operators should be allowed
to take a break every hour. Practically speaking, their shift should
be no more than ten hours in a 24 hour period, allowing them time
to handle personal, work or family matters.
Often during emergencies, the demand for emergency communications
far exceeds that of available operators. A typical, well staffed
operation for a given site requires a minimum of three operators
per shift for adequate coverage and rest.
- Lack of available food/water and "facilities"
You should keep in mind that during emergencies, operations will
take place at locations that normally do not handle large groups of
people. As a result, you'll probably find that there are no
accommodations for food, water, restroom, personal hygiene and first
aid. You will need to prepare and bring for your needs, and
realistically, for at least two more people (since you're working in
a team environment and there'll be other responders). Packaged foods
such as MREs, bottled water, prepackaged baby wipes, and rolls of
toilet paper are signs of a well-prepared emergency communicator.
- Lack of replacement equipment
Sometimes, as shift communicators leave, they will take back their
personal equipment brought to the operations. This is understandable
and should be anticipated. As people respond to an extended operation,
take a moment, find out how long they will remain and ask them if
they're willing to let others use their equipment. If they indicate
that they can only loan the equipment for a limited period of time,
put out a request for replacement equipment before it is needed.
- Every one is "stressed out"
Emergency communications is a very challenging assignment with
pressure to perform unique tasks being placed on everyone.
The following are a few hints that will help things go more smoothly:
- Meet with the appropriate person in charge to establish the
working relationship, the boundaries of responsibilities and the
process of assigning work and communications.
- Set up an operating location with work table, lighting and
similar considerations in the safest and most comfortable
environment possible.
- Insure you install equipment, antennas in a safe and
durable fashion.
- For those responding at an evacuation shelter, inform anyone
appropriate that we are communicators and not shelter
managers. Refer shelter management issues to the appropriate
person. Do not attempt to handle any Red Cross issue unless there
is a prior written agreement.
- Other people will have many different priorities. Try to
work within these differences.
As these demands wear down the individual's capacity for tolerance,
flexibility and creativity, the person shows signs of stress. People
show it as varying levels of irritability and emotional outbursts,
which reduce the effectiveness of the unit. The easiest method to
mitigate these potential problems include:
- Remind the emergency communicators to not take problems
personally.
- Remind people that we are in this together and what our
common objectives are, based on the needs of this incident.
- Try to establish teamwork and cooperation. Remind everyone
that working together will achieve the best results. We only have
the resources at hand.
- Insure everyone knows the command structure.
- Being cooperative and not bruising someone else's ego
The best time to teach cooperation is before the event. Build this
in as part of the culture of the emergency communications
team. Remind the team when they're activated and before they begin
their operations. Remind the team that they will be shining examples
of what Amateur Radio is about to the rest of the community.
Therefore, their conduct should be that of "professionals" -- to
be courteous, considerate, effective and to rise above the
situation. The only thing that's amateur is in our name and
that's because we do it out of love, not for compensation.
Remind them that even if things are not going well at the moment,
that it's not a failure, it's delayed success. The key is to
focus at the task at hand and make it a success by overcoming whatever
obsticles arrise.
During severe emergencies, ECom personnel can be called in from
other parts of the state and country. The situation is elevated
from EC to the DEC, SEC and ARRL HQ. Often, the emergency will be
carried on national news, and other available amateurs in the region
and across the country would ready themselves for deployment
and identify themselves to ARRL HQ. In this exchange of information,
the request for more emergency communicators is also handled.
The emergency communicators are dispatched, and informed who to contact
when they arrive in the affected area.
In preparing ourselves to assist our served agencies in times of
emergency, many people take a somewhat myopic view of that
preparation. We look toward the equipment and some training. There
is one other consideration we must make. Are we physically ready?
For a lot of us, the equipment is a major contributor in the fun
of Amateur Radio. To those that are not as technical as we would like
to be, it is still a lot of fun to get new equipment (a.k.a. toys)
and learn to use it properly. Equipment is but one third of the
equation.
Training ourselves, not just to be able to operate the equipment,
but to handle messages expeditiously and with minimal impact to
our surroundings is also a challenge. ECom material helps a bit there.
The item that many overlook is the physical conditioning that we
really need to be able to handle the stress of emergency operations.
Does that mean or imply that each of us must be ready to run a marathon?
Hardly. There are a few simple guidelines we need to follow to be
better prepared to physically support ECom operation.
- Eat properly - this means eat the foods that will help
keep us healthy.
- Minimum "junk" food. The "Mickey D" three basic food groups of
sugar, salt and grease do not help our health.
- Appropriate amounts of protein, vegetables and complex
carbohydrates, which vary with the individual.
- Drink a LOT of water. Most of us forget that the recommended
minimum amount of water is 6oz. every hour (not coffee,
not soda pop, etc). Very few people consume that much.
- Moderate amount of alcohol (or none, if you prefer and absolutely
none if you are about to work).
- Get enough rest, Regularly! - Some people think that
four hours of sleep will suffice. Most of us do better with six
minimum and the really intelligent understand that seven and one half
to eight is better yet. The second half of that equation is
regularly . That means virtually every night. The occasional
night with minimum sleep is not a problem, as long as it is occasional.
- Exercise - Get regular exercise, appropriate in duration
and type. Appropriate for someone twenty-five is probably not correct
for some one sixty. A good source of reasonable exercise for all of
us is to walk for at least thirty minutes each day.
Many will whine that there is "not enough time." If you are
planning on being dead in six months, I agree. Go for it.
For the rest of us, take the time. Plan on a slow, steady,
evolutionary change in how you make yourself ready to support the
life style you have chosen. If you are physically active, properly
rested and have eaten properly, you are far better prepared for the
stress of emergency operation.
Public Service Communication
The following are your priorities - in this order - when
it comes to safety.
- You
I think each of us has heard the saying something to the effect - watch
out for number one, or no one else will. Be it a training exercise or
an actual emergency your safety is up to you. It is your primary concern.
If at any time you are asked to handle an assignment that, for any
reason, you are uncomfortable with, decline it. If your concern is
with safety, please let your group leader know why you declined.
- Your Team
Your second priority is the safety of your team. There can easily be
assignments, such as ATV, where the person with the camera will be
very engrossed with insuring the picture is the best possible
and may not notice unsafe conditions. You as the second person
there will then need to be very careful about the safety of
your team.
- Your Mission
Your mission becomes important only after your safety and the safety of
your team. During that mission if the safety of anyone becomes an
issue, speak up and if necessary leave.
The standing rule in fires is to always have two exits and should one of
them become unavailable, use the one you have - IMMEDIATELY. If
necessary, leave your equipment. Equipment can be replaced, people
can't.
During the briefing for the event you are about to go out on there
should be mention about workmen's compensation insurance. If it is not
mentioned, ask!
Not every served agency will be able provide you with workmen's
compensation insurance. If yours does not, feel free to decline the
assignment if the lack of insurance bothers you. If you are willing
to participate without workmen's compensation insurance that's fine
but you must know in advance of going out, so you can make an
informed decision.
Safety - Summary
Remember, an incident scene is not about radios and being a Ham,
it's about the incident and YOU will either be part of the solution
or you will become part of the problem. Keep your eyes open and
do your best to anticipate unsafe conditions before they happen.
Let's face it, there are hundreds of people that can talk the ears
off of a brass monkey and when they finally finish you ask yourself
"what did they actually say?" Many operators think of ECom as a simple
extension of the "talk time" in the hobby. This is not true. ECom
continually needs more trained operators that are willing to learn to
communicate rather than just talk. Trained operators have learned
to communicate accurately, in a timely fashion, regardless of the
obstacles in the event. Unlike general Amateur Radio activities,
emergency operations happen in real-time. Things can not be delayed.
EMcom communicators are looking for specific stations to contact NOW to
pass traffic. Teamwork, not competition between stations or
groups, is imperative.
Within Emergency Communication you will have TWO different levels of
communication. The first is in passing traffic on behalf of a served
agency. This is known as formal traffic. Under those conditions you
pass traffic EXACTLY as written. You change nothing. In some instances
you will not understand what the message means. That is fine. Your job
is to get the message to the destination as quickly as possible,
not to understand it.
When you receive a message from a served agency, read it. If
there is any part you cannot read, ask for clarification before
accepting the message. You can't accurately transcribe what you
cannot read. When you transcribe a message from a served agency,
MAKE NO CHANGES! It does not matter if you do not understand the
technical meaning. It DOES matter that you pass traffic exactly
as written.
The second type of communication is when YOU originate the message,
it is not written and where a written response is not required. This is
commonly known as informal traffic. In that situation you control what
the text of the message will be. Therefore phrasing is up to you.
Plan your communications at least as well as you plan what you
say when you know you will be quoted. When ever reasonable, write
down what you will say before you say it.
In Emergency communication it is important to say as little as
possible, yet convey all of the meaning. How can we do this?
- Brevity and Clarity
Each message should consist only of the information necessary to
convey the meaning clearly and accurately.
The standing "rule of thumb" is - if you can leave a word out without
changing the meaning, leave it out. If a description of an item will not
add to the understanding of the subject of the message, leave it out.
Another item to remember, do NOT use contractions within your
messages. Words like "don't" and "isn't" are far too easy to confuse.
Add to that the stress and confusion during an emergency and they WILL
create problems.
- Slow Down!
Hams, in general, tend to handle communications as quickly as they
can. This does NOT produce the maximum thruput during a net.
While this may seem counterintuitive, it has been proven again and
again that a three or four second break between transmissions will
actually result in information being passed more quickly. If
this seems strange to you, take the time to listen to Police,
Sheriff's Office or Fire dispatch. They are able to convey large
amounts of information very quickly because they maintain a slow,
measured pace.
In addition, the three or four second break between transmissions
ensures priority and emergency traffic can gain access to the
net without requiring the largest signal on that frequency.
- Do not editorialize
Literally hours can be lost by people inserting their opinion on
unrelated subjects. What someone thinks about a ball game or the
weather is irrelevant unless weather or the ball game is the subject
being discussed.
- Do not rationalize your actions
The time for explanations on why you did or did not do something
is during the after action debriefing. Whining about it during the
event or incident only wastes time!
- Listen
The first requirement for communication is the ability to listen.
But, you say, I can tell someone what is required without listening. Not
really. Communication is the - two way - exchange of thoughts, ideas or
information. Two way. That requires listening. An olde timer once said
"A ham has two ears and one mouth, so he should listen twice
as much as he talks." But always remember, communication will be
acknowledged.
- Plain Language
Refrain from using technical slang (jargon) in your messages. Not
everyone understands those terms and it could easily cause
misunderstanding. Remember, "Q" signals are for CW and "10 Codes"
are for 11 meters.
- Standard ITU Phonetics
While it may take less effort to speak into a microphone and listen
than to operate CW, it does take some care to quickly and accurately
convey exact information. Speak distinctly at all times. If
information is to be written, pace your speech accordingly.
For critical information, or under noisy conditions, spell words
with standard ITU phonetics. ITU phonetics were chosen so that each
word sounds completely different from all others.
They are:
|
|
| A - Alfa (AL-fa) |
B - Bravo (BRAH-voh) |
| C - Charlie (CHAR-lee) |
D - Delta (DELL-tah) |
| E - Echo (ECK-oh) |
F - Foxtrot (FOKS-trot) |
| G - Golf (GOLF) |
H - Hotel (HOH-tell) |
| I - India (IN-dee-ah) |
J - Juliett (JU-lee-ett) |
| K - Kilo (KEY-loh) |
L - Lima (LEE-mah) |
| M - Mike (MIKE) |
N - November (no-VEM-ber) |
| O - Oscar (OSS-cahr) |
P - Papa (PAH-PAH) |
| Q - Quebec (kay-BECK) |
R - Romeo (ROW-me-oh) |
| S - Sierra (SEE-air-rah) |
T - Tango (TANG-go) |
| U - Uniform (YOU-ni-form) |
V - Victor (VIK-tor) |
| W - Whiskey (WISS-key) |
X - X-ray (ECKS-ray) |
| Y - Yankee (YANG-key) |
Z - Zulu (ZOO-loo) |
- Numbers
are pronounced as individuals. The number 60 is pronounced
six zero, not sixty. The number 509 is pronounced five zero nine,
not five hundred nine and NOT five oh nine.
- Formal written traffic
Insure you have asked all questions necessary to have obtained
the following:
- Who is requesting what and from whom?
- What is the requesters full name/title/agency & location?
- What is the recipients full name/title/agency & location?
- What are they requesting and how many do they want/need?
- Is it a list or single item?
- If it's a list, do all items come from the same place?
- If multiple sources then multiple messages.
- Is the subject the transportation of an item, or the
acquisition of that item, or both?
- Where will it come from (not always the same as the location
of the person receiving the request)?
- Where will it go to (not always the same as the location
of the person requesting the item(s))?
- When is it needed?
- Time/date as applicable
- Net Protocols
- Participating in a net
-
Enjoy yourself - Amateur Radio public service is fun!
-
Prepare yourself.
Are your batteries charged? Are you on your
best antenna for the frequency/repeater you will be on? Do you
have pencil paper and other items you think you will need?
-
Listen. If you are there at the start of a net or join one
in progress, LISTEN for several minutes before you check in.
NCS will announce/ask-for what they want.
-
Check into the net in the mode being used by the net.
This should go without saying but we still see people who cannot
follow directions.
-
Follow NCS' Instructions. NCS will ask for specific
people/categories-of-people as they are needed.
Follow instructions!
- Slow Down!
Hams, in general, tend to handle communications as quickly as they
can. This does NOT produce the maximum thruput during a net.
While this may seem counterintuitive, it has been proven again and
again that a three or four second break between transmissions will
actually result in information being passed more quickly.
- Do not editorialize. "This is Phred in the North East
portion of the county at 9300 feet where it is snowing, but it was
sunny five minutes ago when I came in from feeding the birds,
geese and hamsters, but its cold right now and it looks like
it could rain in the next day or so - just checking in."
is unnecessary and unwanted.
This ties up the net and does nothing
to add usable information. Check in with your CALL. Add name
and other information as requested by NCS.
- Do not rationalize your actions.
The time for explanations on why you did or did not do something
is during the after-action debriefing. Whining about it during the
event or incident only wastes time. Let's face it, hearing someone
say "Well I thought it might be better if . . . . . . .", does nothing
to facilitate actual communication.
- Plan your transmission. If you have more information
than just your Name/Call then jot it down. You can, if necessary,
just read your note.
This promotes clear concise communication.
-
Check in ONLY if you are going to be part of the net. Do NOT
check in as "in & out" or "for the count." You are joining the
net or you should only listen.
-
Checking in with "This is" then a pause or unkey followed by
the call may work on a few nets, but causes delays and
potential problems on most. (Local net option)
- Do not check your friends or family in to a net, unless
they are in the room and able to answer were they called by NCS.
-
Unless your transmission is longer than ten minutes, you need
only identify at the end of the transmission/exchange of
information.
-
Let NCS know when you leave or if you need to leave early.
Do not go into details of why you need to leave.
-
During an event, if the authorities ask you to move; do so
immediately and without comment, then notify the NCS of your
change in status as soon as you can.
-
If an on-scene authority requests that you shut your radio off,
or that you not transmit, do what they ask immediately and without
question.
This is one circumstance where you do not notify the NCS of a
change in your status. This deserves a little explanation.
This would normally occur only if there is a presence of explosives or
explosive chemicals or vapors, and there is the possibility that a spark
producing electronic device is present which might be triggered by
an RF Signal.
- If you are concerned with what you can and can not say during a
net, please review the "Who talks to the media"
portion of this document.
-
Be patient with the NCS. An NCS operator is under high stress.
His questions and requests should be clear and crisp; but as
he/she begins to tire, there may be a tendency to become rather
terse. Typically, there is a whole lot going on at an NCS that the
field operators never know about.
Hams are patriotic, independent people and they are volunteers.
The attitude among a few hams is that 'Volunteers don't
have to take orders.' That's absolutely correct. We don't
have to take orders. But if you are not ready to
follow instructions, you may want to do something outside
of ECom
- Leaving a net
You will leave a net for one of three reasons:
- The location is closing
If NCS has given you directions to close the location, simply
identify with your FCC issued call, the location tactical call and
the word "CLOSED." The NCS will tell you if anything else is needed.
If you are closing the location on orders of the served agency,
you will identify with your FCC issued call, location tactical call
and the phrase "location CLOSED per (name of person - served agency
identification)".
- You need a break and there is no relief operator
Tell NCS that "I will be away from the radio for (number of
minutes)" and end with "Tactical id, (your call)."
- You have turned the location over to another operator
You will normally not need to tell NCS that you are leaving if this
is a regular shift change. However if there are specific instructions
from NCS then follow those instructions.
- Don't over identify
There is normally nothing that will expend more time, needlessly, than
over identification. Someone that uses their FCC issued call in every
transmission is usually a person that is unsure of themselves or,
worse yet, someone that is more interested in having their call known
to everyone at the event. In the latter situation, help them find
work elsewhere.
The FCC tells us that you need only identify at ten minute intervals
during a conversation (NOT during a net unless you talk for more than
ten minutes) and during your last transmission.
End each exchange with your call. That tells everyone that
you are of the opinion the exchange is complete and you fulfill all
FCC requirements.
- Write it down
The easiest way to minimize what you say during a net is to write down
everything before you key the microphone. Since very few of us like to
write lengthy notes, this will promote brevity.
An excellent place to keep this information is in your location
log. This serves two purposes: 1) You have a complete log of everything
that came from your location 2) It will become very brief.
- NCS
- The NCS is in charge of the net while the net is in session.
He/She is responsible for controlling who uses the frequency
and when they pass traffic. This needs to be balanced with
the fact you will be dealing with volunteers.
- Slow Down! The pace of the net is controlled by the NCS. If you
leave three or four seconds between transmissions, you will actually
pass more traffic in less time.
- Net Control shall have a commanding signal, i.e. clear,
crisp signal with good audio characteristics.
- NCS must keep track of which resources are on the net and who
has cleared the channel. NCS is also responsible for knowing
what traffic each person is capable of dealing with (sending
HF traffic to a Tech. will not work).
- In medium and large operations you need to have a
backup NCS and a person to log.
- Keep a written record of the incident and all traffic passed.
This does not mean a copy of all formal traffic. Simply an overview
of the message.
- Make ALL instructions clear and concise,
using as few words as possible.
- Use tactical call signs. If participants do not follow your
lead, only recognize those using tactical calls (obviously
all bets are off if it is emergency traffic).
- Different nets handle different traffic. Should someone try
to pass traffic that should be on another net, refer them to
the correct net.
- NCS backup
There are two types of NCS backups. The first is located in the same
room/area as the NCS and acts as relief for the NCS at regular
intervals. The second type is a person that maintains a duplicate log
of everything happening at the event and is available should there
be a failure at the primary NCS location. Whenever there are enough
people working an event, an offsite backup NCS should be maintained.
This person must be operating with the knowledge and consent of the
NCS station and should be known to the entire net.
- Loggers
People to handle the keeping of an operational log for the event are
a very important to the smooth operation of the event and can be
invaluable during emergencies. These people free the NCS from having
to split their time/effort down to a level that is neither efficient
nor productive. Every net will be enhanced by a good logger.
- Site communicators
Site communicators have the responsibility of listening to everything
that happens on the net and maintaining contact with the served agency
people at the site. They need to produce formal traffic as applicable,
maintain a log of activity at their location and be responsive to the
needs of their served agency people.
In an emergency, it will be far easier to handle all of the tasks at
a location if there are at least two people there.
- General communicators
- Report to the NCS promptly as they become available.
- Ask clearance from NCS before using the frequency.
- Answer PROMPTLY when called by NCS.
- Use tactical call signs.
- Follow established net protocol.
- Listeners - LISTEN!
The most helpful listener, during an emergency, is one that listens
and stays quiet! NCS does not care that you are there
listening unless he asks for assistance from listeners. Normally
there will be enough people working the net to handle anything
NCS needs. This is even more important if you are not a regular member
of the group handling communications.
- Liaison Stations
- Liaison stations provide the communication link between two nets.
They will generally be limited to two nets so they can maintain good
communications between the nets.
-
Liaison stations will need to have at least two radios, each with
their own antenna. These antennas must be separated sufficiently to NOT
interfere with the other radio when the operator transmits on either
frequency.
-
Liaison stations will be appointed by NCS or the staffing officer,
usually from trained operators.
The following instructions apply to all ECom operators!
Everyone MUST ensure that all assignments, delegation
and hand-overs are done with explicit statement of intent
and explicit statement of acceptance. The most likely
problems will occur when duties are assigned/accepted implicitly.
If ALL assignment, delegation, handovers, acceptance etc. are
explicit, the potential mis-understandings are minimized or eliminated.
A good technique to ensure understanding is to repeat
what you understand the order or instruction to be. This will expose
errors before they can become a problem.
Event Check List
The following are YOUR responsibilities for every
emergency and many exercise events. Remember that during an emergency
you will either be part of the solution, or you will become part of
the problem.
- Before you leave your house, you should:
- Review your assignment to ensure you understand what is expected
of you for this specific assignment.
- Incident type, name and designation
- Incident check in location
- Reporting time
- Anticipated length of stay
- Travel instructions
- Update your "go-bag" with needed items not normally stored
there
- Prepare clothing and food, sufficient to handle the anticipated
length of stay at your assignment.
- Review communication procedures as necessary
- Ensure that your family knows how to contact you while you are at
the assignment.
- Review transportation requirements - to and from the assignment
- On departure from your house, check in with the
staffing net to let them know you are in route to your
assignment.
- On arrival:
- Check in at the staging area so the served agency records
reflect your help.
- Determine where/when the event briefing will be (ASK!)
- Notify the staffing net that you are going to the
operations frequency.
- Check in with operations NCS to let them know you are available.
- Perform the duties assigned in a manner consistent with good safety
procedures and good Ham techniques.
This will include:
- Monitor work progress.
- Provide your supervisor with appropriate status updates and
notification of any problems that may arise.
- Keep a good log of your station activities!
- Once your assignment is complete AND prior to departing you
need to:
- Complete your work assignment
- Brief your subordinates on demobilization
- Complete event paper work
- Brief your replacement as applicable
- Follow incident check out procedures. This means:
- Check out where you checked in (if at all possible)
- Notify Operations NCS of your departure
- Notify the Staffing Net you are checking out from your assignment
and going home.
- Upon arrival at your house, check out with the
staffing net.
This ensures the event staff have full accounting of your safety
and location while you work any event.
- Why standard formats
- Examples
-
Abbreviations, Prowords, Prosigns
- Do not speculate
Do not speculate on anything relating to an emergency! There may be
hundreds of people listening to what you say (amateur operators, Media
AND Public - via scanners) and any incorrect information could cause a
panic.
If your served agency INSISTS on an estimate, you may provide that
information, so long at you make it - very - clear that it is an
estimate. For example - "Estimated number of spare shovels at fire
base three is twelve" - would be acceptable. First choice is NO
speculation.
- Pass messages exactly as written
Your job as a communicator is to pass traffic as quickly and
accurately as possible. Therefore you will NOT change any message as
you handle it. If you note an inaccurate word count in NTS traffic,
you will maintain the original count and note the corrected count
received at your station. This holds true for voice traffic as well.
Pass traffic as received, without alteration or interpretation.
- Not all tactical messages will be in NTS format.
It is important that you understand that much of the tactical
information being passed during an event may not be in NTS format.
It will have much of the same information, such as:
Name, Agency and title of the originator
Name, Agency and title of the recipient
Date, Time and Priority of the message
Body of the message
but may not be in NTS format.
- Preamble
- Message Text
- Signature
During an emergency the messages you handle can easily contain
requests for very expensive supplies that have a very limited "shelf
life" (such as blood for an aid station) or for services that will
only respond to authorized requests (flight for life helicopters).
As such it is imperative that you ensure the signature/authority
is included in every message.
- Modified message form for disasters
While NTS format messages can handle many different types of
information flow, there will often be requirements for formats that
are unique to an individual emergency. Use the most effective message
format for the event you are working.
Work with your EC and served agency(ies) - before - the emergency
to see what format will best fulfill their information needs.
- Many groups are now using ICS forms for compatibility with their
Served Agencies.
- Other NTS Information
To improve communications you need to improve the difference between
the signal and the noise levels (signal to noise ratio) to achieve
reliable communications. For our purposes here, noise is defined as
any impediment to transmission or reception of information (messages).
What form can this "noise" take? Some of the more common ones are:
- Static and background noise on the air
- Equipment or voice sounds around you
- Inappropriate amount of light
- "Loose cannon" tempers
- Improper transmission speed
- Improperly formatted messages
What can you do to maximize message thruput? Here are some of the
more common ways to handle impediments.
- Slow Down!
Hams, in general, tend to handle communications as quickly as they
can. This does NOT produce the maximum thruput during a net.
While this may seem counterintuitive, it has been proven again and
again that a three or four second break between transmissions will
actually result in information being passed more quickly.
- Static and background noise on the air
- Ensure you have the proper antenna for the job.
An NVIS
will work very well for 40 and 75 meter SSB when your
communications range is up to about three hundred miles where a
vertical will not. Conversely, a vertical will work quite well for
VHF/UHF.
- Choose the best band for the job
VHF/UHF are very good for short distances (less than 50 miles) but
are useless for distances over one hundred miles. The antennas are
quite small.
HF propagation differs by band and antennas are quite large.
What distance do you wish to cover?
- Make sure your equipment is grounded.
- Equipment or voice sounds around you
- Use a headset to minimize noise you will hear from the area
you are in.
- Use a noise canceling microphone to minimize transmitted noise.
- When ever possible, locate your station away from the source
of noise.
- Inappropriate amount of light
Many people do not think of light as a potential problem. Think
what happens when you have too much light when you try to read a
computer screen or too little light when you try to read printed
information.
- Stay out of direct sunlight if at all possible.
- Try not to be in shade while having to look directly into the
sunshine.
- Ensure there will be sufficient light for you to work at night.
- "Loose cannon" tempers
These are very hard to deal with. You best bet is to ask assistance
from your supervisor. A team working calmly toward a common goal will
frequently defuse the situation.
- Improper transmission speed
- Practice sending at the appropriate rate where the other party can
copy. That means you shouldn't ramble off the message text at
high speed, but pace yourself to the same speed that the other
party is copying (about 15 WPM). That translates to about one
word every four seconds. As you speak, imagine that you're
writing the word in your mind. After a while, you'll get the
hang of talking 15 WPM. If you do this right, you'll never get
a request to repeat a section.
- When asking for part or all of the message to be
repeated, get into the habit of saying "Say Again" instead of "Repeat".
Repeat is used in the military to fire another salvo of artillery.
- Improperly formatted messages
Please see the section on Message Handling for formatting
information.
Each ECom member is expected to be prepared to respond as effectively
as possible to a callout. No one is expected to ignore personal
responsibilities to family or employer, nor unnecessarily risk their
welfare! However, personal inconvenience
or lack of preparation is insufficient reason for not supporting
a callout!
How do I prepare? Put together a "go-bag" of the items suggested
in the equipment list shown below.
Please understand that you are not expected to stuff your entire
ham shack, closet and pantry into a time capsule in preparation
for an alternative life style in support of ECom. Rather that you
think about the items you do not have and acquire them while there
is time and no urgency.
The list includes virtually everything you will need to be helpful
in an ECom event. We suggest you maintain one "go-bag" with the
items that you would need only during a deployment and possibly a
second (or it could be just a list) of the items that, when added
to the first, will provide you with the personal supplies and radio
equipment to make you much more effective and comfortable during
an event.
To summarize, don't wait until you are called, to assemble your
"go-bag". Do it in advance at your leisure.
The items shown in UPPER CASE are the ones most likely to be needed.
There are very few people that would knowingly relieve you of
your equipment but during an emergency there is a lot of confusion.
If you have each piece of your equipment marked with your name and
call it will be much easier to ensure your equipment is returned to
you at the completion of the event.
Nothing is more embarrassing during an event than to have to ask
someone else to show you how to operate your own equipment. To avoid
that situation you should:
- Make sure YOU can set up the radio on any frequency/mode the radio
will operate on.
- Insure you know how to set, turn on and turn off the sub audible
tone encoder for VHF/UHF.
- For VHF/UHF radios - make sure you can operate "reverse pair" if
the radio is not "rock bound," in case the repeater IS down and someone
else is "rock bound" or doesn't know how to fully operate their radio.
- Does your radio have the ability to lock on or out a frequency?
Insure you know how to activate or deactivate that function.
- Try all configurations of power source, transceiver,
antenna, fuses, and patch cords you have.
- Make a card with tune-up procedures and operating precautions.
- Photocopy key pages from the operating manual and place in an
envelope attached to each radio. Include enough information so another
ham can use your radios without further instructions.
- Label pre-programmed memory channels by name and frequency.
Preferably on the radio or in a plastic pouch attached to the radio.
When you maintain equipment in standby or "on the shelf" waiting for
a callout the equipment may not be used for months. It's easy to
overlook routine maintenance you should perform regularly. You should
keep in mind:
- NiCd batteries self discharge at approximately one percent (1%)
of their capacity per day. If you leave them on the shelf for
over three months they can go to zero charge or be in such a poor state
that individual cells in the battery pack may reverse polarity,
thereby ruining the pack. The best way to avoid problems is to use
EVERY battery pack you have every month. One complete discharge/charge
cycle per month WILL keep the battery pack healthy well beyond
the normal life span of about three years.
- "Button" cells used for memory backup in programmable radios can
go dead in three to five years. Replace them when it's convenient for
you, not when it's too late.
- Connectors, switches, and potentiometers can develop corrosion
from disuse, especially if dissimilar metals are present. Operate,
unplug/replug, and clean them regularly.
- Pre-installed antennas at served agency locations and vehicles
can be damaged and detuned. Check them monthly for changes and
physical damage.
- Printer ribbons and ink cartridges dry out from disuse.
Develop a stock rotation plan so spares don't get too old.
- Dry cell batteries, flares, first aid supplies, fuels, food
and water all have shelf lives. Develop a stock rotation plan for
the ones you have.
Of all possible portable antennas, the type that will be easiest to
transport, store and put up is the wire antenna. These antennas can be
made in various configurations based on the frequency range to be
covered. For VHF/UHF the "J-pole" antenna, made from 300 ohm TV type
twin lead, will produce gain over a quarter wave yet store in a very
small space. For HF the mono band or multi-band dipole will be very
effective.
Not all nets need to use voice to pass traffic. CW nets can be used
to move traffic in an efficient manner over conditions that are not
favorable for voice networks. Examples are:
- Limited power at the transmitting location, requiring
conservation of energy.
- Limited antenna capability, especially during a windstorm
such as a hurricane or tornado, where it is not possible to deploy a full,
directional antenna.
- Extreme interference due to foreign broadcast, commercial
paging or similar high-output conditions.
- Does not require computer equipment or conditioned
power to pass traffic.
- Poor propagation and high static, especially on 40m
and 80m, diminishing the use of voice for efficient two-way communications.
During such times, CW can be an effective means of passing traffic.
On-the-air speed is not an appropriate measure of effectiveness.
The timely and accurate passing of messages is. Since accuracy is
very important, it may be prudent to slow down the sending speed to
make up for adverse conditions. The key is to send at a speed that
the receiving station can pick up comfortably, and with heavy
interference and poor signals, 10 WPM may be appropriate.
Digital Overview
Digital Nets have been gaining interest due to their ability to send
and receive information with no errors. They have advantages over Voice
Nets when it comes to handling list oriented traffic, such as
lists of supplies needed. It also removes any ambiguity in what is said
and provides a more secure method of transmitting data, in that not
just anyone with a scanner can determine what was said.
There are several digital modes, the most common being Packet,
Baudot (RTTY), Amtor, and Pactor. The two most important modes for
Digital Nets are Packet and Pactor.
Pactor is used on the HF bands and Packet on VHF and UHF frequencies.
Both protocols offer error correction during transmission. While the
speeds of both modes are slow compared to the Internet, they still
offer a practical means to deliver documents, files and messages to
served agencies in their original configuration. Digital Nets are
conducted regularly throughout the country in your local communities
and states. This is where one's skills can be developed and utilized
in an actual emergency.
Digital Equipment
While there are many configurations of equipment that will handle
digital communications the most common seem to be:
- A computer that will run Windows (or its varients). Yes a DOS
machine can be made to handle traffic, but the Windows versions
expedite the process.
- A Terminal Node Controller (TNC) that handles Packet and Pactor.
- A radio that will accomodate digital modes (for VHF that is almost
any 2M rig).
- Cabling (varies with TNC and radio)
- Software. Most Windows machines come with HyperTerm and it will do
reasdonably well. However, the WinPack software from G4IDE is very full
featured and very inexpensivve.
Digital Considerations
There are many items that affect the decisions that must be made,
prior to starting a digital net. These will dictate the band used and
therefore the antennas required, the equipment needed and the software
needed for the computers. Some of the more important are:
- Distance between the furthest two stations
- Mountainous vs flat ground (or a mixture).
- Repeaters that cover the area you will be serving
- Number of stations handling traffic for the event or incident
- Anticipated traffic volume (one per hour vs one per minute, etc.)
- Likelihood of emergency traffic
When distances are long, the number of stations involved is large
and the traffic is heavy, point to point connections via HF can be the
most effective. When the number of stations is small, the traffic
volume is average to low and distances are all within VHF/UHF range, a
packet cluster may be the best solution. This decision must be made by
the EC in charge of the event or incident.
NOTE: The following information is much more
useful to those not just begining in digital communication.
Packet Tactical Calls
A Packet Tactical Call is similar in function to the tactical call sign
used on a voice net. The "tactical" designation indicates the location
and/or function of that station. Descriptions used here may differ in
the specific TNC parameter used as each manufacturer usually has their
own subset of instructions. Packet Tactical Calls should be assigned and
set up using the following guidelines.
- Call sign
Before a packet tactical call sign can be
established the control operator must first enter their FCC call sign
into the TNC using the MY(call) parameter. This establishes the
required station identification per FCC rules.
A Packet Tactical Call sign should consist of a 2-5 letter tactical
abbreviation that will be easy to remember based on the operator's
location and/or function. The five character limit is enforced in some
cluster software and has other implications that we will cover later.
Some examples are:
- "EOC" - for the Emergency Operations Center
- "ICP" - for the Incident Command Post
- "ARC" or "RedX" - for American Red Cross (usually the operational
HQ)
- "RCS" - for Red Cross Shelter (RCS1, RCS2, etc.)
- "SA" - for Salvation Army (usually the operational HQ)
- "SAC" - for Salvation Army Canteen (SAC1, SAC2, etc.)
Tactical calls for digital nets will usually be more abbreviated
than for voice nets. The tactical of EOC would likely be the same for
both nets where Avista Hospital would likely be Avista for voice and
AVH for digital.
When more than one Emergency Operations Center is open for the same
incident, there will need to be more information in the tactical calls
to remove ambiguity. For example: Denver EOC (DEOC), Northglen EOC
(NEOC) and Thornton EOC (TEOC) would work very well, just EOC would not
have enough information to adequately define the location.
Secondary Station Identifiers (SSIDs) are used to designate various
functions of the station. Please note that the SSIDs recommended here
are consistent with the defaults used in the most commonly available
new TNCs. They are also very similar to the defaults in several of
the older models.
- No SSID - the TACTICAL callsign by itself, is used to access the
digipeater and is set with MYA(lias) [tactical].
- [Tac]-1 a "-1" SSID designates the station's mailbox or PBBS.
This should be set using the command MYP(bbs) [Tac]-1.
- [Tac]-7 designates the station's node function if the TNC at that
location has node capability and it is enabled. This should be set
with MYN(ode) [Tac]-7.
- [Tac]-9 A "-9" SSID should only be used to designate a Winlink
2000 gateway or Telpac node. These stations generally require special
software and are not normally used.
NOTE: Cluster operation will not normally need
the following but for point-to-point, this information is very important.
Identifying your Station to the Net
Other stations on the net need to know the location/purpose of your
station, what tactical callsign you are using and the available
functions. This is accomplished using the ID, Beacon and various
Connect-Text strings.
- ID
as soon as a station is set up, configured and on the air,
the control operator should issue an "ID" command or ID [ENTER].
This will send an unproto identification packet based on the TNC
configurations. This will usually consist of MYCALL/R (if digipeat
is turned on) [MYALIAS]/D, [MYNODE]/N, and [MYPBBS]/B. Note: The
value set in the TNC command is substituted in the [-to-] in the
previous statement.
- Beacon & Connect Text Strings
the Beacon and various Connect Text strings should all be set in the
same manner and provide essential information to the other net
stations: station location and/or function; tactical callsign and
the SSIDs for various station functions. By keeping all these
strings the same, they can be set up very quickly under emergency
situations by using the "Cut & Paste" feature of many terminal
programs. If you were using the tactical of "EOC" then to set
your Beacon Text you would issue the command:
BT(ext) "Emergency Operation Center; EOC/DIGI;
EOC-1/PBBS; EOC-7/NODE" (without the quotes).
After the beacon, other net stations monitoring will have all the
information they need to communicate with, or utilize all the
available functions of, the EOC station.
- CT(ext) should be set in the same manner.
Any station connecting to the base callsign will receive the
same information sent in the beacon above (although most stations
will be connecting using the packet tactical callsign, rather than
the base callsign)
- PT(ext) should be set in the same manner.
- NT(ext) should be set in the same manner.
Note: If you see a Node designation on the Beacon Text, BBS Text or
Connect Text, you may use that exact designator as a very high
efficiency digipeater. Please see Kantronics documentation for full
details.
Message Numbering
The variety of computers you are likely to see at any Amateur
Radio communications event or incident boggles the mind. As such
a message numbering scheme is needed that accommodates the earliest
DOS based file names to the latest Windows and Linux operating
systems. Since DOS file names will easily work on Windows and Linux
operating systems, but not the other way around, the DOS standard
of eight character file name and three digit file extension, is
strongly recommended.
All messages sent and received must be saved at least until after
the post mortem associated with the event or incident. The file name
should be the 2 - 5 character tactical abbreviation described above,
concatenated with a three digit (no more, no less) sequential number.
This is one of the reasons for the five digit limit on the tactical
name described above.
The file should be saved with a file extension that indicates
the data format of the file. For most messages that would be .TXT
for ASCII Text files, but could be .doc for Word Perfect or MS-Word
documents.
For example, if a message was the fifth message from the "EOC"
as described above and the file was ASCII text, the file name would
be EOC005.TXT
End point-to-point information.
Cluster Operation
Most people do not understand what a packet cluster really is. Most
think that a single computer running packet cluster software is a
cluster. It is not. It is in fact a packet node. A cluster is formed
when two or more packet nodes, running cluster software, are
interconnected via a frequency not used by either node's users.
Common configurations are VHF-I/O for users and UHF-I/O for inter
node communication.
When interconnected in the manner described above, any user on the
cluster can send messages to any other user on the cluster, without
needing to know which node that user is connected to. This DOES
require coordination of the Tactical Calls used by everyone connected
to the cluster.
Things to remember, on a cluster
- Ensure you have the CH(eck) parameter of your TNC set to zero. This
keeps you from being disconnected from the cluster if there is little
activity.
- If you receive an emergency message, real or simulated, pass the
traffic by voice and confirm it by packet.
- Message numbering is handled by the cluster and you only need to
write the message number the cluster assignes on the hard copy you
entered the information from.
Things to avoid
There are few things that will evoke the SysOp's ire more quickly
than to make one of the following mistakes:
- Use the "List" command under event or incident conditions.
This one command does stifle communication on that frequency
for the time it takes to supply you with mostly worthless information.
If you have specific instruction to use this instruction then do so.
Otherwise use the restrictive forms of that instruction (such as LL 3
for List-Last 3, or dir/3, etc.) to obtain only the information you
need. Remember, your call will be included in every packet sent by
the cluster so you will be easy to track.
- Use "Conference" or "Announce" functions improperly.
This single action causes full two way interaction between the
cluster and every connected user, for every entry. This is a very easy
way to get into trouble very quickly. DO NOT use them without explicit
instructions from your EC. Conference must not be used under event and
incident conditions and Announce must be used only when explicitly
directed by the EC/RO.
SSB Nets are found mostly on the HF bands and are designed to meet
specific communication needs. Nets can be found for most everyone's
operating habits, including emergency communications.
Because of the nature of HF, these nets can be international, national,
regional or local in coverage. Band selection and propagation will
usually dictate the net coverage and many nets are scheduled to take
advantage of specific band characteristics. In addition to the HF SSB
nets, there are many regional and local SSB nets on VHF that exist
throughout the country that can be put to emergency use if the need
arises.
- Standard Frequency
As part of your local emergency plan, there should be some reference
to your local and section nets and their operating frequencies and
times. A standard operating frequency is important, as this is where
everyone will congregate on when an emergency occurs. Alternates to
this frequency are also important if the frequency should become
unusable for some reason. Make sure you keep a current list of nets,
their frequencies and times, and any emergency frequencies that may be
called into service if the need arises.
- Traffic for the net
The goal of all nets is to transfer information, also known as
traffic. Traffic priorities are: Emergency, Priority, Routine and
Health and Welfare. Many nets will not accept Health and Welfare
traffic during the first seventy-two hours of an emergency.
Notify NCS as you check in if you have traffic for the net.
- Regular participation
Regular participation in emergency nets is the best way of staying
current and understanding the operations of a particular network. In
addition, it makes sure your equipment is operating properly and helps
you to understand your station's coverage.
- Checkins/checkouts
Each net may have unique procedures for check in. Listen
to the net preamble to learn what you need to do.
- Relays
SSB and FM Simplex nets may require relays if there are stations on
the edge of coverage. Many nets have established policies in dealing
with relays, sometimes alternating NCS' to widen the effective
coverage.
- Regularly scheduled nets
Nets held on FM Simplex frequencies are usually called as
backups when normal FM repeater communications are disrupted or to
handle local traffic. These nets hold special challenges for all
concerned and are closer to SSB nets in function than they are to FM
Repeater nets. For that reason, experience in operating on HF SSB nets
will hold the operator in good stead during a simplex net.
- Location location location
The first fundamental of efficient simplex operation is Location. If
you are mobile, move your antenna until you can receive a good signal
and use proper power to be able to communicate with the NCS. Some
stations will relocate to a high point to conduct a simplex net to
improve their coverage.
- Net Control challenges
As part of the challenges facing simplex operations, the NCS must
learn to use relay stations properly to pass traffic. Since not all
stations can hear each other on most simplex nets, there is need to
identify those stations with the best coverage, as relay points.
- Practice regularly to develop skills
A regularly scheduled Simplex net can get everyone up to speed on the
problems facing simplex operations and can stimulate those involved to
steadily improve their stations and operating skills to the point that
simplex becomes a well established alternative to emergency
communications should the local repeater system fail.
- Have a plan
It is important to have a local emergency plan and that all of the
ECom operators know what that plan is. Knowing what
frequency to turn to in the event of an emergency is the best way to
ensure that there are enough operators available to assist in an
emergency situation. Having backups to these established
frequencies is also important and should be detailed in the plan.
These backups should include both FM repeater and simplex frequencies.
Reference to local section HF nets should also be mentioned for those
with HF capabilities. Find out what the local plan has in it. If
there's not one, get with your local EC (or your local club if there is
no EC in your area) and help create one.
- Simplex repeaters
There is an increasing use of simplex repeaters during emergencies.
These are simply radios that listen to a particular simplex frequency,
record what is being sent, and when the carrier drops, repeat that
same information on the same frequency. These provide a special
challenge and different operating skills for those who use such
repeaters. While coverage is definitely increased for a simplex net
using a simplex repeater stationed at a high point, the drawback is
the time delay while the messages are being 'repeated', literally
doubling the communications time for any message. If time is
critical and a communications path is available, it would be better
to conduct emergency traffic directly if possible. Moving to a
different frequency would probably be the best alternative to handle
such traffic.
- Repeater Etiquette
- Leave at least 3-4 second breaks between
transmissions. This allows other stations to break into a
conversation should there be an emergency.
- Some repeaters have courtesy beeps. These signify that the time
out timer is about to reset.
- Autopatch: Most are closed - that is the autopatch is for club
members only. For all autopatches you need to think of the following
- Keep calls short and to the point.
- Inform the person on the phone line that this call can be heard
by others.
- Remind the person on the phone line that there is to be no
profanity.
- Don't say anything to the person on the phone line that you would
not say loudly at the local shopping mall.
- Various repeaters have functions other-than or in-addition-to
rag chewing. Learn about the repeater you are about to use BEFORE
you begin a long rag chew.
- Linked repeaters: In general, linked systems are not a good place
to hold long rag chews. You will not just tie up a single frequency
pair. You may - in some systems - have repeater pairs in as many as
ten cities tied up. Be careful.
- "Q" signals are for CW
- Leave the 10 codes on "other" radio services.
-
Once you've learned the basics, gain as much on-the-air experience
as possible. Practice before the event. Publicize and hold practice
sessions.
- One cannot anticipate all the possible problems that can come up
in the field or on-the-air during such an event. By engaging in
on-the-air activities, you practice solving problems spontaneously
while continuing to communicate.
- Don't be overly concerned with the problem solving during
the exercise. What's important is that you experience and learn to
cope with fielding multiple unexpected situations, which will help
you in future activities. Problem solving will be developed simply
by attempting to handle the message traffic and situations.
- There is a very good reason for advance training. You do not
want to deploy into the field with any form of uncertainty or
hesitation. You want to work out your "butterflies in your stomach"
ahead of time in a comfortable and safe environment, such as an
afternoon or evening net or on simplex with a couple of your buddies.
- Practice being efficient with your time and the use of other
people's time. Cut out excessive chatter and get immediately to the
point. During an emergency, time on the radio channel is very
limited.
- Make your transmissions sound crisp and professional like the
police and fire radio dispatchers and the air traffic controllers.
Do not use any more transmission time on the radio than
absolutely necessary.
- Someone IS waiting to use the channel. That's why
frequencies are busy and congested during an emergency. You don't
like it when someone is hogging the channel when YOU need it, so you
should be considerate and keep your transmit time on the frequency
as short as possible.
- What is a callout?
A callout is the process by which ECom members are contacted to
support served agencies in an emergency. Callout procedures may be
used as part of ECom exercises.
Callouts occur at the District or County level and will ONLY be
initiated by the EC or AECs for the district or County.
In a real emergency, these officials act in response to actual or
anticipated requests for communications support by served agencies.
Each ECom member is expected to be prepared to respond as effectively
as possible to a callout. No one is expected to ignore personal
responsibilities to family or employer, nor unnecessarily risk their
welfare. However, personal inconvenience or lack of preparation is
insufficient reason for not supporting a callout.
- How do I prepare?
Put together a "go-bag" of the items suggested in the Personal Equipment Checklist outline.
DON'T wait until you are called to assemble
your "go-bag". Do it in advance,
at your leisure, before it is needed.
- How will I know?
As an Amateur Radio emergency communicator, you should register
with the amateurs associated with RACES, Civil Defense (or Office of
Emergency Management) and ECom and make arrangements to be available
for alert and activation. Typically, two or more amateurs serving as
liaisons with CD RACES are on pager notification by the CD agency.
The pagers and/or telephone voice message are typically activated by
a computerized group-call paging/notification system activated by
the CD communications officer using a touch tone telephone control
code. Other similar automated or manual notification system may be
in use in your county.
Once these amateurs are notified, a number of alert mechanisms
can be used. A common one is to disseminate the alert/notification
via a pager and/or telephone tree. The pager code may indicate the six
digit frequency of a local repeater, followed by a three digit action
code (ie, 911 for an emergency, 000 for test). Some groups use a
two tone paging signal on a local repeater with wide coverage,
activating commercial voice pagers that have been modified to monitor
the Amateur Radio repeater.
Once the activation notice has been sent to check into the local
command repeater, an NCS establishes a check-in net while the ICS
communications command team establishes themselves. The operation
teams are expected to activate and respond according to their normal
response plan. The command team will issue bulletin statements for
the net as needed, directing and fine tuning the activation. They
will cancel the alert as needed should the situation warrant it.
As the net is started it is the responsibility of the NCS to
start the mobilization / demobilization sheet. A recommended form
can be found at
http://www.w0ipl.com/ECom/mobdemob.htm. The information
that must be kept is:
- Name and FCC issued call
- Date/time they called in at
- Date/time they reported to the staging area
If the person called in as they arrived at the staging area
then the last two items will be the same.
- Tactical assigned to this person or the tactical call used
by the location this person was sent to and the time this person
was assigned.
- Time/date the person left for home.
This information is critical to ensure everyone that participated
is accounted for at shut down. A byproduct of this information is the
ability to determine how much time we spent on the event.
If the situation is weather related, amateurs can also
monitor NOAA NWR for information direct from the National Weather
Service. You can find out more by contacting the Civil Defense
office in your state:
http://www.fema.gov/fema/statedr.htm
- Individual Responsibilities
Each and every person working an emergency (and most training
events) has specific responsibilities. These include, but are not
limited to the items shown in the ECom
Check List.
This list is oriented toward the Incident Command
System (ICS) but should be utilized in virtually every ECom
event.
- Initial Operation
If you are responding to another location, as you get on site,
ask for the person in charge and introduce yourself as the emergency
communicator assigned to serve that location. The person-in-charge
will be busy, so spend only a moment explaining that you would like
to set up a communications station for that location, and to ask where
he/she would like you located. Be prepared to suggest an appropriate
location -- one that can serve as an operating table and message desk;
has feedline access to the window, outdoor or roof; access to power
and telephone, and is away from the command center to avoid
commotion from disturbing either the command or communications
center.
Move your equipment, battery and power cords into position.
Hopefully, you've arrived as a team of two or more, so that a person
can start setting up while the other person is moving some of the
equipment in. The first priority would be to set up a 2M mobile station
to establish essential contact with the net. Use the lowest power
setting that produces reliable contact. Since you're operating in an
unfamiliar environment, resist the temptation to run high power, which
could possibly cause local interference in nearby equipment.
Proceed to set up the scanner, then HF, packet and other stations.
As more of your communications setup becomes operational you can check
into other nets and begin compiling a list of stations that are reachable
directly or via a relay station.
- Paperwork required at the site
Some of the things you should have with you when you operate
in the field:
- Message forms or sheets to compose messages. ICS-213 recommended.
Often, you'll copy the message onto scratch paper, then transcribe
it cleanly onto the incoming message form.
- Log sheets to track incoming and outgoing messages.
- Notepad for writing notes. Spiral bound Steno type recommeneded.
- 3M Post-its for annotating items.
- Long term operation
If you expect to operate from the location for a period of time,
establish a message filing system so that you can retrieve the messages
as needed. Some of the "portable office" type that can hold several
hanging folders and has a tray on top for pencils, a mini-stapler,
scissors and scotch tape would be very useful to organize and file
the messages. You should also look for and establish a break area,
rest room facilities and a sleeping area.
- Notification of shutdown
The notification for shutting down operations may be given over the
air by the NCS or bulletin station. The shutdown is usually preceded
by notices giving a heads up, stating that shutdown of operations is
coming. Notifications can be supplemented via alpha pager and
telephone tree networks.
Be sure you confirm the shutdown order.
- Shutdown and cleanup
Upon receiving notice of a shutdown, the station should begin
securing the messages, the message desk, equipment and other materials.
Make sure you leave the area you operated at in as good or better
condition than you found it. Your served agencies appreciate that.
- Debriefing Input
As part of the preparation for after action debriefing,
the following information should be noted:
- Your log should contain what time critical events occurred. It
is useful in the port-mortem analysis to determine time frames for
activation, setup, transit, etc.
- Complete information on what happened.
- Note who was around. In case there are questions, you will know
who to contact for further information.
- Note the hours of operation.
- Note what was accomplished. Often, the list of accomplishments
need to be related to those who weren't there at the scene/operating
location.
- Note what's pending. If there were unfinished items, note them so
that someone else can follow-up.
- Note what was good. Jot down the things that went well. Often,
in the heat of the moment, we forget that there were things that worked
in our favor.
- Note what needed improvement. This is fairly easy to track, as we
remember easily the items we struggled with the most.
- Thank those who turned out and were involved. Even a simple verbal
thank you goes a long way, compared to hearing not a single word.
Make sure you make it a point to thank those around you and your family
for letting you get the job done.
To simplify collection of
Debriefing
information in large incidents (multiple day) an online form has
been created. This form will need to be copied and modified to
work for your Section.
Emergency communications is a very challenging assignment.
There's a lot of need being placed on people in a short amount of
time. For this reason, stress can build upon the operators.
As these demands wear down the individual's capacity for tolerance,
flexibility and creativity, the person shows signs of stress.
People show it as varying levels of irritability and emotional
outbursts, which affects the ability to work well with others.
The best time to deal with stress is before it presents itself.
Learn coping mechanisms before responding to an event.
Some of those mechanisms are:
- Focus on teamwork, strategy and results, rather than
on worry and concern.
- Learn tolerance and patience during times of heightened
demand and activity.
- Understand that we are human and there are limits to
our performance, both individually and corporately.
- Learning the impact that diet, beverages and exercise can have
on relieving stress and increase the capacity for dealing with it.
- Learn to get rest and take breaks as necessary for you.
What works for someone else may not work for you.
You may be exposed to experiences that are unique and unpleasant.
A healthy person is able to withstand the emotional experience of
high stress well enough until the impact of the immediate need
passes, then begin processing the experience to accept the situation
rather than reacting to it. Members of the team should learn to work
with the stress rather than reacting to it.
Within ECom there are many "opportunities" to experience situations
that we would not normally encounter. Some of these experiences,
especially during training and public service events, can be very
enjoyable and rewarding. Some, such as during floods, major fires,
tornados and events like September 11, 2001 in New York City are far
less than enjoyable, but can still be very rewarding.
In both environments we need to debrief ourselves to accomplish
several objectives. During all events we need to assess our
effectiveness and determine how we can improve. This serves to
help focus our training in areas that need the most work and ensures
we compliment ourselves on the areas done well.
During/after stressful events it is very important that we
continually monitor our own stress levels and those of the
people we are working with. In doing this we maximize the
effectiveness of our unit and identify jobs that need people
rotated out of before stress levels become critical.
To adequately handle this discussion the subject has been divided
into three portions:
- Tactical Debriefing - needed in all events
- Emotional Debriefing - needed in stressful events
- Family Briefing - needs to be covered before major events
Most of us view tactical debriefing as something done as an
after thought or something we do to get it out of the way. If you
instead look at debriefing as a learning tool
that will improve your effectiveness and that of your
unit, it will serve you well.
One approach to debriefing is to answer the following questions
in as much detail as is reasonable:
- What was our mission/goal - exactly what were we there to
accomplish?
- For the communication, did we have a clear definition of who
we were to communicate with and what the likely traffic would be?
- Did we accomplish our mission/goal?
- What did we do correctly (list everything)?
- What did we do that was beyond expectations?
- If nothing was beyond expectations, why not?
- Were the expectations unreasonably high?
- Did we not have enthusiastic participants?
- Were we lazy?
- What items did not meet expectations?
- How can we improve on those items?
- What specific training items do we now have a need for?
- Other than the training items, what else needs improvement?
- Were there any "surprises" and why did they surprise us?
It is very important that every ECom operator in the event have
input to the debriefing. The reasons are simple. First, many
times one person's comment sparks yet another thought from someone
else. Second, no one can observe everything that happens, you
need everyone's observations to be complete.
If you are unable to attend the formal debriefing or if the
incident is multiple day and you wish to capture your input a sample
online
debriefing input form has been created.
Contact your EC or DEC to see about implementing this process.
The American Red Cross has some thoughts on stress induced
during disasters that are included here
for your information.
Police psychologists talk a lot about "critical incidents," but
what exactly is one?
A critical incident is an occurrence that is one or more of
the following: [a) Sudden and unexpected
[b) perceived as life-threatening [c) overwhelming
[d) disrupted sense of control
[e) disrupted basic assumptions and beliefs
[f) resulted in physical and/ or emotional loss
Physical reactions to critical incidents can include:
[a) headaches [b) exhaustion [c) sleep disturbances
[d) appetite disruptions [e) "nervous stomach"
Behavioral reactions to critical incidents can include:
[a) hyperactivity [b) being easily startled
[c) withdrawing or isolating oneself [d) periodic underactivity
Psychological reactions to critical incidents can include:
[a) anger [b) self-blame [c) fear [d) anxiety [e) depression
[f) over sensitivity [g) emotional numbness
[h) having a heightened sense of danger [i) flashbacks
[j) preoccupation with the incident
[k) feeling that these emotions are "wimpy"
To minimize the effects of event related stress we need to
provide emotional debriefings. These
debriefings must be an organized, open discussion
that takes place after a serious and emotionally taxing event.
Its purpose is to provide a forum in which emergency workers
can release their stress. This is not an investigation or an
interrogation, nor is it a tactical debriefing. Rather, it is
an open, constructive means by which emergency workers can openly
express their emotions. When appropriate, trained professionals
may take part. They can offer concrete suggestions for ways of
overcoming the stress related to the incident.
The concept behind these debriefings is to encourage free
expression of thoughts, fears, and concerns in a supportive
group environment without losing status among one's peers. In
fact, debriefings are much more successful and the feedback more
positive when peer support personnel are more active.
The debriefing process allows individuals to gain insight
and reframe the event in a different perspective. As short-term
initial intervention, it often aids in preventing some of the
long-term cumulative effects caused by traumatic incidents.
All debriefings must be confidential and provide an opportunity
for educating emergency service workers on stress responses, as
well as letting those involved know that they are not alone in
their thoughts and feelings.
Stress reduction begins with an evaluation of one's life. Taking
a close look at your life and the things
that you can control will help
with your evaluation. Here are some ways you
can reduce stress in your life:
- Don't make any life altering changes.
- Get plenty of rest.
- Rather than jumping out of bed and rushing to start your day,
plan to get up 15 minutes earlier each morning and take time to
meditate. Beginning this way provides a foundation for
the rest of the day.
- Structure your time - keep busy.
- Do make as many daily decisions as possible which will give you a
feeling of control over your life, i.e., if someone asks you
what you want to eat - answer them even if you're not sure.
- At regular intervals live in the present moment. Anxiety
increases when we brood about a past event or fret about a
future obligation.
- Do things that feel good to you.
- Approach a stressful event with a positive attitude and it
will boost your energy.
- You're normal and having normal reactions - don't label yourself
crazy.
- Talk to people - talk is the most healing medicine.
- Help your co-workers as much as possible by sharing feelings and
checking out how they are doing.
- Give yourself permission to feel rotten and share your feelings
with others.
- Keep a journal; write your way through those sleepless hours.
- Realize those around you are also under stress.
- Be aware of numbing the pain with overuse of drugs or alcohol;
you don't need to complicate this with a substance abuse problem.
- Reach out - people do care.
- Maintain as normal a schedule as possible.
- Spend time with others.
- Remember, you get to make mistakes in life. Strive for
excellence but don't be too hard on yourself if you do not attain
it every time.
- Give yourself some credit. Each day take a moment to give
yourself a pat on the back for all the things that you do.
- Take the time each day to create peaceful images in your
mind. During your workday, occasionally pause to imagine
yourself in a tranquil setting.
- Eat well-balanced and regular meals (even if you don't
feel like it).
- Change your eating environment. Get out of the office
and enjoy your meal in the park. Occasionally eat by yourself
in silence. Eat slowly, and enjoy yourself.
- Observe your breathing. When we are relaxed, our breathing
is slow and even. However, when we are anxious or upset, we
tend to breathe irregularly.
- Take a brisk walk. Exercise burns off the excess adrenaline
that fuels feelings of anxiety and stress.
- Practice hospitality. Greet people with a smile; this will
make others feel good and in turn, it will give you a deep sense
of ease, calm, and peace.
- Just say no. You don't have to accept every project, every
invitation to become involved, and every opportunity to attend a
meeting.
- Walk in someone else's shoes. Try to see a conflict or
difference of opinion from another person's point of view.
- Don't bring work problems home or home problems to work.
When you pull into the driveway, take a minute to orient yourself
to being with your family and entering your home.
Most of us aren't able to get rid of all the stress in our busy
lives. However, by finding ways to cope with and reduce stress
and keeping your life simple, you can begin to start sorting out
what really matters in your life.
One item that few of us remember is that our
family will be affected by our experiences during
emergencies. The easiest way
to minimize adverse effects on our families is to ensure they
understand before the event that we will need their help
and understanding after major traumatical events we may be called
upon to work.
A good source for information they can easily understand is the
American Red Cross. They have extensive amounts of helpful
information you can get. The most important information for your
family is included here.
Specific things the family can do to help are:
- Listen carefully.
- Spend time with the traumatized person.
- Offer your assistance and a listening ear if they have not asked for help.
- Reassure them that they are safe.
- Help them with everyday tasks like cleaning, cooking, caring for the
family, minding children.
- Give them some private time.
- Don't take their anger or other feelings personally.
- Don't tell them that they are "lucky it wasn't worse" - traumatized
people are not consoled by those statements. Instead, tell them that
you are sorry such an event has occurred and you want to understand
and assist them.
Incident Command System
Latest update to ICS/NIMS information: 2/24/05
Disclaimer
The following description of the Incident Command System (ICS) is
a summary for use by Amateur Radio operators working on ECom
activities. This summary is -only- to provide Hams with basic a
understanding of terminology and concepts associated with ICS and
NOT to replace formal ICS training within your district.
Understand that the structure defined in this document is for large
events. In smaller events, a subset of the full structure will likely
be used.
NIMS
As of August 2004 there has been Presidential decree that ALL public
service entities implement the National Incident Management System
(NIMS) by 2005. In simplest terms NIMS is ICS carried to the Area
Command level. It also explains how MACS fits within the NIMS/ICS
environment.
The best way to learn about NIMS is to take the self study course at
www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS700.
This is strongly recommended for everyone.
The following are links from the web page noted above. The
Facilitators Guide combines the self study material AND the
PowerPoint presentation into one PDF for ease of study.
MACS
Multi-Agency Coordination System (MACS) operates between the ICS and
NIMS, normally at the county level. The specific terminology you will
need to understand are the Mode Numbers. Modes are numbered from one to
four and have the following meanings.
- Mode One: Jurisdiction(s) having authority responds and handles
the incident without requesting outside resources.
- Mode Two: Jurisdiction(s) having authority requests outside
resources including mutual aid but retains incident command
authority.
- Mode Three: Jurisdiction(s) having authority requests transfer of
incident command management authority to the County EOC or to a unified
command structure.
- Mode Four: County agency, or unified command requests that the
incident management authority be transferred to the state or federal
level.
ICS Overview
Incident Command System is a management tool designed to assist anyone
who has the responsibility for the successful outcome of an incident.
We will define an incident as any planned or unplanned occurrence or
event, regardless of the cause, which requires action by emergency
service personnel to prevent or minimize loss of life or damage to
property and/or natural resources.
Emergency services professionals agree that too often there is
considerable confusion in the operational performance at major
incidents. On large structure fires, floods, forest fires, hazardous
materials spills and tornados, the ability to manage the situation
effectively seems to decrease in direct proportion to the number
of agencies involved.
Problems arise because of different operating procedures, terminology,
and/or incompatible equipment. The problem is compounded when
different types of agencies such as fire service, law enforcement,
rescue groups, health departments, and forest services all become
involved at one incident. When several levels of government add to
the mix, the potential for confusion is critical.
It is not uncommon for each agency to have a very limited understanding
of the procedures and terminology of the other agencies involved,
yet the jurisdictions and authority at the scene may overlap
extensively. Too often, the person in charge is unable to communicate
a strategy or plan of action. As they arrive, the various agencies
have difficulty determining their duties and where they fit into
the management structure.
The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized method of managing
emergency incidents. It is based on a common organizational structure,
common terminology, and common operating procedures.
ICS will manage small, routine, daily incidents as well as the large,
complex multi-jurisdictional disasters everyone dreads. ICS reduces
confusion and uncertainty in the early phases of an incident, thereby
increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of mutual aid while
increasing safety.
Within ICS, the transition from a routine incident to a major
emergency is orderly and requires a minimum of adjustment for any
agency. In its largest application, it may include several thousand
people without compromising effective supervision.
ICS does not infringe on the daily routine, responsibilities
or authority given each agency by statute. But, if a transfer of
authority is necessary as conditions change, ICS smooths the
transition since organizational structure and lines of authority
are clearly defined.
On-scene operations often need coordination from the affected
governments. This support includes delegation (and definition) of
authority to the Incident Commander, and planning/logistical support
from all agencies involved. ICS compliments interagency planning and
logistics through the Multi-Agency Coordinating System (MACS).
The Incident Command System has two halves. These halves are
interrelated and both are critical to the successful outcome of the
incident.
- Management by Objectives
Four essential steps used in every
incident, regardless of the size or complexity are:
- Understand policy, procedures and statutes
- Establish incident objectives
- Select appropriate strategy
- Apply tactics most likely to accomplish objectives (assign
correct resources and monitor results)
The complexity of the incident will determine how formally the
management by objectives portion will be handled. In a small, simple
incident, the process can be handled by verbal communication between
appropriate people. As the incident becomes more complex many of the
differences in individual objectives will be resolved by documentation
of the incident objectives. The ICS 201 document describes the process
that allows this to happen in a systematic way.
- Organizational Structure
The ICS structure begins with the Incident Commander (IC). The person
designated IC is responsible for the management of the incident and
starts the process by setting incident objectives. This person may do
all functions without aid but will usually delegate responsibilities
to others in the organization. The IC still has overall responsibility
for the incident, regardless of duties delegated.
It is common to have an incident cross-jurisdictional boundaries.
Unified Command is the ICS process that allows the multiple
jurisdictions to develop unified objectives and strategies for the
incident. This is accomplished without any loss of authority,
responsibility or accountability.
Under Unified Command:
- There is one IC for any event. There is not
an "IC for ........ and an IC for .........".
There is ONE Incident Commander.
- The incident will be handled under a single coordinated Incident
Action Plan (IAP).
- One operations Section Chief will have responsibility for
implementing the Incident Action Plan (IAP).
- One Incident Command Post (ICP) will be established.
As the IC fills positions in the organizational structure the
positions will fall into five areas of management function:
- Command -
The IC is responsible for all incident or event activity.
The incident size/complexity will determine which other management
functions will be filled. The command staff assists the IC and
reports directly to the IC.
- Operations - Operations is responsible for directing the
tactical actions to meet incident objectives. There is only one
Operations Chief (if activated by the IC) per operational period but
that position may have deputies as needed.
The Operations Section commonly uses Branches, Divisions, Groups,
Task Forces and Strike Teams to maintain unity, chain of command
and span of control.
- Planning - Responsible for collection, evaluation and
display of incident information. It also maintains status of resources,
preparing the IAP and incident related documentation.
- Logistics - Is responsible for providing adequate services
and support to meet all incident or event needs.
- Finance/Administration - Responsible for tracking incident
related costs, personnel and equipment records and administering
procurement contracts associated with the incident or event.
Each of these functional areas can expand as needed into additional
organizational units with further delegation of authority. As
positions are filled, the radio designations are replaced with ICS
position titles.
The ICS organization at any time should reflect only what is required
to meet planned tactical objectives. The size of the current
organization and that of the next operational period is determined
through the incident action planning process.
A number of organizational elements may be activated in the various
sections without activating sectional chiefs. Each activated element
must have a person in charge of it. A single supervisor may initially
be in charge of more than one unit. Elements that have been activated
and are no longer needed should be deactivated to decrease
organizational size.
The greatest challenge for the IC is to maintain control of the
resources and to keep open communication both up and down the
organizational structure. The principles of Unity of Command, Chain
of Command and Span of Control allow this to take place. These three
principles are also critical for maintaining the safety of incident
personnel.
- UNITY OF COMMAND means that every individual has one
designated supervisor, knows who that person is and how to
contact them.
- CHAIN OF COMMAND means that there is an orderly line of
authority within the ranks of the organization with lower levels
subordinate to and connected to higher levels. In most incidents,
chain of command will consist of:
As incidents expand, the chain of command expands through an
organizational structure that can consist of several layers. For
example:
- Command
- Sections
- Branches
- Division/Group
- Units
- Resource
- SPAN OF CONTROL relates to the number of individuals one
supervisor can effectively manage. In ICS the span of control for any
supervisor falls in the range of three to seven, with five being
considered optimal. Span of control is accomplished through timely use
of delegations and good resource management.
Incident Documentation
INCIDENT ACTION PLAN (IAP) is to provide all incident
supervisory personnel with direction for future actions. It may be
written or verbal but written plans are preferred. It is important
to use written IAPs when:
- Two or more jurisdictions are involved
- The incident will overlap major changes in personnel or go into
a new operational period
- There is extensive or full activation of the ICS organization
COMMUNICATIONS PLAN can be very simple and given verbally
or may be quite complex and form a portion of the written Incident
Action Plan. Among other items it lists the frequencies to be used
for the incident.
INCIDENT COMMANDER (IC)
Reporting to the IC are:
- Command Staff
- Safety Officer
- Liaison Officer
- Public Information Officer
- Logistics Chief
- Service Branch
- Communications
*** This is where Amateur Radio fits in ICS when there is need for
the full ICS structure.***
Understand then that each incident
will be structured as needs dictate.
As an ECom or RACES member, your job is to supplement Served Agency
communications.
Therefore we will be assigned where the Incident Commander (IC)
needs us.
The following is the breakdown for Communications. Please note: Not
all of these positions will be filled in every incident.
- Communications Unit Leader (ComL)
- Communications Technician (ComTech)
- Incident Communications Center Manager (INCM)
- Medical Unit
- Food Unit
- Support Branch
- Supply Unit
- Facilities Unit
- Operations Chief
- Staging Area Manager
- Fire
- Law Enforcement
- Emergency Medical Service
- Public Works
- Emergency Medical Service Branch
- Triage Group
- Treatment Group
- Transportation Group
- Fire Service Branch
- Suppression Group
- Rescue Group
- Rehabilitation Group
- Law Enforcement Branch
- Investigations Group
- Interviews
- Crime Scene
- Perimeter Group
- North
- East
- West
- South
- Search Division
- Team 1
- Team 2
- Team 3
- Tactical Response
- Public Works Branch
- Diking
- Debris Clearance / Street repairs
- Utilities, Electrical
- Utilities, Gas
- Utilities, Water
- Telephone
- Planning Chief
- Resources Unit
- Situation Unit
- Documentation Unit
- Demobilization Unit
- Technical Specialists
- Finance Chief
- Time Unit
- Procurement Unit
- Compensation Unit
- Cost Unit
Each person within the ICS structure is charged with accomplishing
specific tasks in support of the overall effort.
These tasks, for
incident managers are:
INCIDENT COMMANDER - (IC)
- Assess the situation
- Establish incident objectives and overall plan
- For the first hour
- For hours two - eight
- For extended operations
- Fill necessary ICS functions
- Brief staff
- Monitor staff and revise plans as necessary
- Handle requests for additional resources and release resources
- OPERATIONS CHIEF
- Obtain briefing from IC
- Establish operational objectives per incident plan
- For the first hour
- For hours two - eight
- For extended operations
- Develop tactics to accomplish objectives
- Divide incident by geographic reference and/or function
- Appoint and brief Branch/Division/Group leaders
- Supervise operations
- Determine and acquire resources from Branch/Division/Group
leader input
- STAGING AREA MANAGER
- Determine location of staging area
- Establish staging area layout
- Determine support/service needs for staging area
- Report status of equipment and personnel in staging area
to the Operations Chief
- Dispatch personnel and equipment from staging area to the
incident as necessary
- BRANCH/DIVISION/GROUP LEADERS
- Assess the situation
- Establish incident objectives for Branch/Division/Group
- For the first hour
- For hours two - eight
- For extended operations
- Develop tactical plan to accomplish objectives
- Determine time and resource requirements
- Determine logistical requirements
- Requests needs from Operations Chief
- PLANS CHIEF
- Obtain briefing from IC
- Establish necessary positions within function
- Supervise preparation of Incident Action Plan (IAP)
- Develop alternative strategies
- Provide periodic predictions on incident potential
- Supervise planning section units
- SITUATION INFORMATION CENTER
- Compile incident situation information
- Display incident status on maps, boards, etc.
- RESOURCE STATUS UNIT
- Compile incident resource information
- Display resource utilization/availability
- Check in resources as they arrive
- DOCUMENTATION UNIT
- Document complete incident
- LOGISTICS CHIEF
- Obtain briefing from IC
- Establish logistics section positions as necessary and do
briefings as necessary
- Identify service and support needs for the duration of
the incident
- Coordinate and process requests for resources
- Advise IC and staff of current service and support capability
- Prepare "Service and Support" portions of the IAP
Etc. etc. etc. - The remainder of the objectives will not normally be of
interest to ECom and so have been omitted from this document.
Incident Command System and Amateur Radio
The Incident Command System (ICS) was developed as a result of
wildland fires in California in the 70's.
Many agencies at the local, state and federal level were tasked
with responding and providing some level of assistance to this type
of incident, and it became painfully evident that differences in
terminology and the lack of a unified command structure created
confusion, and prevented a coordinated approach to managing the
incident.
A Federal/State/Local task force was created to develop a system
for the management of these wildfires, and it expanded to include
any incident.
A few years later, ICS was formalized. Over the past two decades,
it has been implemented throughout the US and Canada and today is
the standard emergency response framework for managing incidents
of any size.
The primary components of ICS are:
- Common Terminology
- Multi-Jurisdictional Unified Command
- Modular Organization
- Integrated Communications
- Manageable Span of Control
As Amateur Radio groups continue to work more closely with the
different Public Service Agencies, they may be asked to function
within the ICS structure. It is incumbent upon Amateur Radio
leadership, and, to a lesser degree, all Amateur Radio operators
to understand how Amateur Radio fits into ICS.
ICS does not seek to alter the way any unit (including Amateur
Radio) performs its internal function. ICS does not dictate how the
police does its policing, how firefighters fight fires, nor how Amateur
Radio units accomplish their tasks. Existing Amateur Radio methods
and procedures remain unchanged. ICS does provide an organization
and reporting structure, with a clearly defined chain of command and
span of control.
While the ICS structure might look a bit daunting at first, it should
be noted that this structure allows for the management of any incident,
regardless of size. All tasks may not be needed at every
incident. ICS allows for the expansion of the organization as
needs dictate, to maintain a span of control between 3 and
7 (optimal of 5) subordinates per supervisor.
We fit nowhere in the organization
until asked. There is no position within
the ICS for "walk-on" operators! If you wish to help in any
event, contact your local ECom Emergency Coordinator or RACES
Officer and volunteer with that person. DO NOT just show
up to work!
The primary area of interest to Amateur Radio participants is the
Logistics Section, Services Branch, Communication Unit. Typically,
the primary contact at the served agency will notify the primary
Amateur Radio leadership individual to advise the nature of the
incident, and where to report. This may be a staging area, or to
the Command Post area, usually to either the Logistics Section Chief,
the Services Branch Director, or the Communications Unit Leader. One
individual may be serving in all three capacities, so Amateur Radio
operators serving at a command post need to understand the specific
nature of the incident. The command post may be identified by
a green light or a green flag. An Amateur Radio operator may be
assigned to the Communications officer or they may be assigned as a
Technical Specialist in another area.
Amateur Radio operators may be requested to perform non-ham radio
activities and could conceivably be assigned anywhere.
If an operator is assigned to a non-ham unit, operators need to comply
with the directions of the unit supervisor, understand the mission
and report actions back to that unit supervisor.
Amateur Radio groups deployed as units should be structured into
groups of 3 to 5 hams under one Amateur Radio unit supervisor.
For example: If a unit has 20 members, the leadership needs to break
the unit down into 4 or 5 units. This could be based upon geography
(where the units will be deployed), time of day (shifts), specific
function (HQ unit, field unit 1, field unit 2, etc), or any other
reasonable, manageable division of labor. Then, instead of one Amateur
Radio leader needing to get status or provide direction to 20 members,
the 1 leader interacts with 4, and those four with 3 to 5 each. This
allows for a much quicker and more manageable method of communications
and control. Smaller units are also able to be re-assigned and moved
more quickly than large units, so the smaller units also allow
Incident Command more flexibility in the utilization of overall
resources.
Everyone MUST ensure that all assignments, delegation
and hand-overs are done with explicit statement of intent
and explicit statement of acceptance. The most likely
problems will occur when duties are assigned/accepted implicitly.
If ALL assignment, delegation, handovers, acceptance etc. are
explicit, the potential mis-understandings are minimized or eliminated.
A good technique to ensure understanding is to repeat what
you understand the order or instruction to be. This will expose errors
before they can become a problem.
Amateur Radio leadership with the likelihood of serving in supervisory
roles for an incident should familiarize themselves with the ICS
structure, forms, methods and procedures. The 'higher up' the pyramid
an individual Amateur Radio operator serves, the more important ICS
training becomes. It would be mandatory for an Amateur Radio operator
assigned to a served agency command post as the Amateur Radio liaison
to be fully trained in the Incident Command System. Each ECom group
within Michigan should have a cadre of individuals "fully trained"
in ICS.
ICS training is provided by served agencies throughout the United
States; check with your local OEM, Sheriff's Office, or Fire agency
for local information.
In addition, ICS courses are available from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) on the web at:
www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is195lst.asp and
www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS700.
As previously mentioned, the methods and procedures used by Amateur
Radio operators: use of nets, methods such as packet or ATV, and
other training such as Damage Assessment, Fire (Red Card) or Fire
Weather training-- are items that remain in place, in use, and
unaffected by ICS-- except for the nature of how information is
reported up the chain and how commands are given down the chain.
Amateur Radio operators should continue to receive training in these
areas-- and add ICS to the already valuable skills used to
serve the public via Amateur Radio.
ICS Definitions
ICS Definitions will explain the
terms and definitions used within ICS that are most relevant to ECom.
ICS Glossary are the definitions of
many other ICS terms that should help minimize confusion.
Copyright © W0IPL, March 2005 (Used with permission).