EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PLAN FOR OUTAGAMIE COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE (ARES) AND RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE (RACES) Revised March 11, 2010 Stanley T. Piekarczyk, K9STN Emergency Coordinator Outagamie County ARES Forward The Outagamie ARES Emergency Plan has been updated as of March 11, 2010. Changes from the original are in bold italics for easy recognition. Change Summary March 11, 2010 – Reorganized & spell check. This edition is a partial change to incorporate changes requested by the National Weather Service for reporting procedures. Changes to Attachment B: Severe Weather log This Communications plan will be ever evolving as the technology of Amateur Radio and the growth of Outagamie County changes. In addition, Amateur Radio Emergency Services is a dynamic entity from outside the county as well. As new challenges, requirements and restrictions are presented, this plan will be updated. As ARES members and active Emergency Communications Operators you may recognize important items to be added and deleted from this plan. Please contact the current EC with recommendations to add or remove items to the plan at any time. Thank you for volunteering your time, your value to the County, State and Country is greatly appreciated. DEFINITIONS 1. Definitions For reference purposes, the following definitions are offered: A. The Amateur Radio Service The Amateur Radio Service is comprised of radio operators who volunteer their capabilities and equipment to provide supplemental communications in time of public need. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses amateurs after passing a written examination testing their knowledge of telecommunications and technical skills in the operation of radio equipment. In accordance with treaties agreed under the International Telecommunications Union, frequencies throughout the radio spectrum are allocated to the Amateur Radio Service. By selection of appropriate frequency bands, amateurs are capable of communicating around the world, throughout a geographical region or may limit communications to a local area. All nations allocate valuable segments of radio spectrum to the Amateur Radio Service because of its ability to immediately respond in time of need and quickly establish communications where non exists or to supplement existing emergency radio services overloaded with disaster communications. Under FCC rules and regulations, amateurs may not be compensated for providing communications and are prohibited from providing communications for the purpose of profit. B. Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (Races) Under FCC rules and regulations, RACES is provided specific radio frequencies on which amateurs, who are registered with state and local Civil Preparedness agencies (Emergency Management), would continue operating in the event Emergency War Powers were invoked and normal radio communications were silenced. RACES are activated at the request of federal, state or local Emergency Management Officials. C. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) ARES is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League to provide supplemental or emergency communications for public service purposes other than Civil Preparedness agencies. Agencies served include, but are not limited to: the American Red Cross, National Weather Service, Civil Air Patrol, Salvation Army, Police and Fire. D. National Traffic System (NTS) The NTS is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League to provide a network of local, state, regional, and transcontinental radio circuits for the transmission of non-commercial message traffic in support of the public interest. E. Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) MARS is a radio communications service of licensed amateurs who are affiliated with the Department of Defense military services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) as an adjunct to military communications. F. Outagamie County ARES/RACES Outagamie County ARES/RACES is an association of licensed radio amateurs in the Outagamie County area dedicated to the education of interested persons, conduct of radio communications and serving the public needs of the area. G. EC Resources LTD. EC Resources LTD is a non-profit, tax exempt organization created to support and facilitate emergency, disaster, and public service related communications systems and services provided by Amateur Radio operators through ARES and RACES to government agencies, the general public and private disaster relief organizations. Communications systems and equipment are provided to ARES and RACES for their use during communications activities. H. Authority Title 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (I) and (o), Chapter 1, Part 97, Subpart A, Sections 97.1, 7.89, 97.910, 97.107, and Sub-part F (all). Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations, Amateur Radio Service. This page intentionally left blank. INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction 1.01 The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) for Outagamie County (hereinafter ARES), is an organization of FCC licensed radio amateurs who volunteer their time and equipment for the purpose of supplying communications services to their community in time of emergency. 1.02 Under Federal regulations, the contents of messages handled by amateur radio are not divulged to unauthorized persons. Similarly, no compensation of any kind may be received in return for the performance of communications services by amateur radio. 1.03 ARES functions at the direction of an Emergency Coordinator appointed by the Wisconsin ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator for Outagamie County. The Emergency Coordinator appoints as many Assistant Emergency Coordinators as is necessary and assigns them such duties and responsibilities, as he/she deems appropriate. 1.04 The purpose of this plan is to provide a written source for use by ARES and served agencies. It contains emergency plans as well as routine plans, procedures, and policies. It is designed for easy expansion and supplementing. 1.05 Certain portions of this document, particularly the emergency plans, are designed to be excerpted and published as completed units. Permission to do so is hereby granted with the request that the source of the material be noted in the republished version. 2.0 Purpose 2.01 The purpose of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service is to provide emergency communications services to government agencies, private relief organizations and the general public in times of disaster or emergency. 2.02 ARES has agreements to provide communications as requested to the following governmental or social service agencies: Outagamie County Emergency Management National Weather Service (NOAA) The American National Red Cross The Salvation Army The Federal Emergency Management Agency The National Communications System The Associated Public Safety Communications Officers, Inc. The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin The City of Appleton Wisconsin 2.03 Any one or more of the above organizations may call upon ARES to provide emergency or disaster communications. 2.04 In addition, ARES provides communications services to civic agencies and groups in supports of fund raising and similar activities, for the purpose of training its members and testing and proving equipment and techniques. 2.05 ARES maintains mutual assistance agreements with other county ARES groups. 3.0 Activating the Emergency Plan 3.01 Activation of one or a combination of emergency plans shall be by the Emergency Coordinator, or in his/her absence, an Assistant Emergency Coordinator. 3.02 The Emergency Coordinator or his/her designated will activate a plan upon request to do so by an agency served by ARES. He/she may also activate a plan on his own authority when it is apparent that an emergency situation exists and activation at that time is necessary. 3.03 The Emergency Coordinator or his designate should be issued a numeric display pager by the Outagamie County Office of Emergency Management. 3.04 Any qualified person who believes a communications emergency has occurred should relay that information to the Emergency Coordinator. 3.05 The Emergency Coordinator will activate the ARES “EMERGENCY NET” at the beginning of any communications emergency or exercise. 3.06 All Outagamie County amateurs should monitor the ARES repeater for information as to emergency plan activation. 3.07 Assistant Emergency Coordinators should monitor the ARES repeater at all times when there appears to be a threat of an emergency. 3.08 At the direction of the Emergency Coordinator, one or more amateurs will relay a message regarding activation to other repeaters in the area with a request that all amateurs switch to on of the ARES frequencies. 3.09 If sufficient personnel are available in the air, and if the telephone system is working, the Emergency Coordinator may authorize one or more stations to proceed with a telephone roster call-up utilizing the latest edition of the ARES roster. 3.10 The primary amateur radio emergency 2-meter communications channel in Outagamie County is the Outagamie County EC Resources repeater. Input is 146.055MHZ and an output of 146.655MHZ with a sub-audible tone of 100 Hz. The immediate backup 2-meter channel is: Input, 144.160; Output, 145.150 Carrier Access. 3.11 Other repeaters and frequencies may be utilized as necessary for efficient operation. 3.12 Upon activation, the Emergency Coordinator will appoint a Net Control Station, which will proceed as outlined in the appropriate plan. 3.13 The Emergency Coordinator will proceed (or appoint an AEC) to the headquarters or the agency responsible for overall command during the emergency SEVERE WEATHER PLAN 4.0 Severe Weather Plan 4.01 Since the early 1980’s, Outagamie County ARES has provided accurate severe weather reports to the Green Bay National Weather Service office and supplied the necessary manpower to activate the ARES Skywarn Net, which directly interfaces with the Skywarn System for the State of Wisconsin in the case of a major weather related incident. 4.02 The purpose of the ARES Skywarn Net include the following: a) To provide the Weather Service direct access to several hundred observers in Northeastern Wisconsin. This provides a tremendous source of eyewitness report of severe weather necessary to the forecasters. This is the primary mission of the Net until the threat of severe weather has passed. In the event of a local disaster occurring during a severe weather net, disaster and weather communications will be equal in priority. b) To provide other served agencies with timely data relating to severe weather for their planning purposes. c) To provide supplemental channels of communications to served agencies in the event of an overload on primary communication circuits. d) To provide an in-place primary communications circuit capable of handling massage traffic in the event normal lines of communications between client agencies are severed. e) To have an in-place and functioning communications net capable of shifting to support of disaster relief operations during or after the termination of the sever weather alert. 4.03 The Outagamie County ARES Skywarn Net will be called upon the issuance of a Tornado Watch by the National Weather Service, which includes Outagamie County. Similarly, a standby net will commence upon the issuance of a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, which includes Outagamie County. The level of activation may be reduced to standby status by the EC if it is apparent the local area will not be affected by severe weather for several hours. 4.04 Upon issuance of the weather watch, the Emergency Coordinator or his/her designate will initiate an ARES Skywarn Net on the appropriate repeater as follows: a) Activate the ARES telephone tree, if necessary. b) Check in all available Assistant Emergency Coordinators. c) Make such immediate assignments as necessary. (e.g.: Comm Center, liaison stations, etc.) d) Appoint a Net Control Station who will implement the remainder of the call up procedure and will begin a directed net. (see 4.106) e) Apprise the Net Control Station of the current situation and personnel assignments already made. 4.05 Upon completion of the above, the Emergency Coordinator or his/her designate may proceed to the Emergency Operations Center or Outagamie County located in the Outagamie County Safety building. 4.06 If activated during regular business hours, one Assistant Emergency Coordinator may proceed to the Red Cross, 1302 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton and will take charge of ARES operations at that location. In the event of severe weather causes damage such that the Red Cross activates to provide services in support of disaster relief operations, the EC, or an AEC will at the conclusion of the severe weather threat, proceed to the Red Cross to assist with operations. 4.07 Duties of the NCS. The duties of the Net Control Station (NCS) shall include the following: a) Direct and maintain control over traffic being passed on the ARES Net. b) Assign personnel to operate priority net stations if not done by the EC, and assign relief personnel as necessary. c) Periodically read instructions on net procedures and types of severe weather to report using prepared scripts. (See section 4.200) d) Keep the frequency clear for emergency communications. e) Acknowledge and respond to all calls immediately. f) Maintain an accurate log of all calls and traffic. g) The NCS should be equipped with emergency power. 4.08 Duties of the Back-up NCS. As soon as possible after activation the net, the NCS should assign a back-up NCS who will be responsible for keeping abreast of all matters on the net so as to be able to take over NCS at anytime. 4.09 Priority Skywarn Net Stations. Certain stations are designated Priority Stations. They may call any other station without going through Net Control. The tactical call sign of a priority station other than the call sign of the operator will be used. The priority Skywarn net station tactical calls are: “NOAA Weather” (NWS, Green Bay) “CommCenter” (Outagamie County 911 Center) “EOC” (Emergency Operations Center) “Red Cross” (Outagamie County Chapter) 4.10 Skywarn Net Format. Because each severe weather alert will be handled individually, an exact format for all Skywarn Nets is not practical. However, the following format should be used as a guideline by the NCS. 4.11 Upon appointment by the Emergency Coordinator, the NCS shall activate the Skywarn Net. a) Assign a liaison station to the Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Skywarn repeater. (This station should be able to monitor both the ARES and NEW Skywarn repeaters simultaneously) b) Read the Skywarn Net Activation Format. (See 4.201) c) Appoint a back-up NCS. d) If not already done by the EC, the NCS shall assign operators to the priority stations. Whenever possible, persons assigned should be operators who have received training in the procedures and operation of the equipment at the priority station. CommCenter – one operator. Red Cross – one operator – as necessary, as necessary. e) Read “Severe Weather Criteria Outline” script. (See 4.201) f) Ask the NOAA Weather liaison station to request or listen for: 1. Current weather situation. 2. Watch number, parameters and expiration time. (This information to be relayed to the Emergency Management Coordinator upon request.) 3. What specific information to National Weather Service requires and from what area. g) Maintain a log of all reporting stations and the information they are reporting. h) At the direction of the EC, NCS will assign properly equipped and located stations to act as liaison with repeaters in the adjoining and/or affected counties. i) During periods of inactivity, read the “Continuity Announcement” (see 4.205) to keep the frequency open and to ensure stations who may have just turned to the frequency are advised a net is in progress. j) When advised by the EC or NEW Skywarn Net Control Operator to secure the net, read the “To Secure The Net” format. (See 4.206) k) Stand by for further announcements from the EC or one of the AEC’s. l) As time permits, read the “Reporting Procedures” script. (See 4.204) SKYWARN NET 4.12 SKYWARN NET ACTIVATION FORMAT Attention all stations: This is ______(Your call)______, Net Control for the Outagamie County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. A Skywarn Net is now called at ________________ hour’s local time. This is a directed net, and all communications will be at the direction of the Net Control Station (NCS). Only stations with legitimate severe weather reports or emergency traffic should break into this net. All stations are welcome to check in. Reports will be taken and forwarded to the National Weather Service by all ARES members that have been trained by the National Weather Service within the past 3 years. Reports that are given by amateur operators that are NOT ARES registered or have not been through the National Weather Service Training in the past 3 years MAY be forwarded as “not from a trained spotter” or the report verified by a trained ARES spotter at the discretion of Net Control. Guidelines outlining legitimate severe weather reports will follow. The current situation is: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (Brief outline of current weather situation) Is there any emergency traffic? All assistant emergency coordinators please check in at this time. (Log) All Outagamie County ARES members please check in at this time. (Log) All other stations please check in at this time. (LOG) This is ___(Your call)__ Net Control 4.13 SKYWARN NET SEVERE WEATHER CRITERIA OUTLINE Attention all stations. This is _______________ Net Control. (Your call) The Outagamie County ARES Skywarn Net is now in progress. Only stations reporting one of the five severe weather events or emergency traffic should break into this net. The only reportable events are: Tornadoes on the ground. Funnel clouds aloft or rotating wall clouds. Any size hail with meaningful size reports (nickel, dime, quarter, etc). Winds in excess of 55 miles per hour. Flooding or other actual storm damage. Supplemental reports may contain the following: Rainfall reports of over one inch per hour Damage reports (requested by NOAA Weather) Variable criteria such as temperature drop or a wind directions change (when requested by NOAA weather. Lightning in excess of 60 strokes per minutes. Count the number of strokes in 15 seconds, and multiply by 4. Report if cloud-to-cloud or cloud to ground. All criteria will be based upon the requests from NOAA Weather and disseminated through the NOAA weather liaison. Criteria may vary based upon the severe weather event. Please use good discretion in passing reports of events not filling these criteria. Net Control will maintain Net discipline. Unless sent if real time, all severe weather reports must contain the elements of : Location, Time, Condition and Station. Location is the exact location of the event. Use street names or highway numbers together with the name of the closes city or town. Do not use GPS coordinates; they take too long to determine location. Time is the time of observation of the event. Accurate time is critical. If you are unsure or do not know, say, “time estimated” or “Time unknown”. Condition is one of the five severe weather events outlined above. Station – is the station that reported the condition to Net Control. This is __________, Net Control (Your call) 4.14 SKYWARN NET REPORTING PROCEDURES Attention all stations. This is _____________ Net Control (Your call) Because many reports my have to be passed and time is critical, the following procedure will be followed: Call NCS giving your call and a short report. For example: W9XYZ, ¾” hail. NCS will say, “ Go ahead with your report” Transmit the balance of your report at SLOW dictation speed. For example: “At highway 76 at BB west of Appleton, 4:35 PM, ¾ “ hail”. This is station KB9XXX NCS will respond with “Roger forward the report” or will ask for repeat or additional information if necessary if the report comes from a trained spotter. If coming from a spotter not on the ARES roster or that has not been through training, the report will be held or forwarded at the discretion of Net Control. NOAA Weather Liaison should also “Roger” if report is to be forwarded. NWS Liaison will contact NWS on 146.760 or 444.775 MHZ. If the event NWS WX9GRB is not active, phone in report to 1-800-788-688. Comm Center operator/Liaison will respond “Roger” if the report is to be forwarded. This completes the exchange. NO further transmission is necessary. Your transmission should be short to maintain an open frequency for emergency traffic. If further information becomes available after the initial report, the reporting station will call NCS using his/her call sign in standard phonetics, if necessary, followed by the word “follow-up”.. Upon acknowledgements by NCS, the station will continue beginning with “reference my report of hail at 4:35 PM” and will complete the follow-up report. This is ________________, Net Control (Your call) 4.15 SKYWARN NET -- CONTINUITY ANNOUNCEMENT Attention all stations: This is _______________________, Net Control station for the Outagamie County Amateur Radio (Your call) Emergency Service. The Outagamie County ARES Skywarn Net is in progress at this time. Please monitor, but do not break in unless you have emergency traffic or report of severe weather. Reports that are given by amateur operators that are NOT ARES registered or have not been through the National Weather Service Training in the past 3 years may be forwarded as “not from a trained spotter” or the report verified by a trained ARES spotter at the discretion of Net Control. The criteria and format for a severe weather report will be announced shortly. This is ___________________, Net Control. (Your call) Are there any further checks-ins? 4.16 SKYWARN NET – TO SECURE THE NET Attention all stations. This is ____________________, Net Control Station for the Outagamie County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. I wish to thank everyone for his and her participation in this Skywarn Net. Your help is greatly appreciated. This Net is secured at ______________ local time. I will now return this repeater back to normal amateur use. This is _____________, clear. (Your call) After the net, forward a make a report to the Outagamie and Appleton Emergency Managers of all reports taken that were forwarded to the National Weather Service DISASTER PLAN 5.0 Disaster Plan 5.01 SCOPE: This plan covers the guidelines required to provide communications following a disaster 5.02 General Descriptions 5.03 Geographically Confined Disaster: One, which encompasses a limited area, up to several city blocks. Although the actual disaster site will be confined, communications may be required at one or more remote sites such as hospitals and shelters. 5.04 Net Control Stations (NCS): A station will be appointed by the Emergency Coordinator (EC) or his /her designate to maintain control over all net operations including the keeping of accurate logs and copying of all net traffic. 5.05 If communications are on a simplex frequency, the NCS shall also secure the ARES repeater input frequency to prevent interference from stations not involved in the disaster, and to all use of the input frequency as alternate priority channel. 5.06 The NCS should be located in close proximity to the disaster site for possible simplex communication, but should not be located within the geographical boundaries of the disaster. 5.07 The NCS should be as self-sustaining as possible, with respect to electrical power, manpower, ARES and commercial communications and life support. 5.08 Backup Net Control Station (BNCS): A station designated by the NCS to be available to take over, as NCS should it become necessary. 5.09 The BNCS should copy all traffic, maintain accurate logs and fulfill all other prerequisites for net control. 5.10 Staging Area: A geographical location, which has been designated as a meeting point for stations, involved with the disaster situation. Staging areas should have large parking lots and easy access to major streets and highways. 5.11 Several potential staging areas may be identified in this plan, but other staging areas may be designated for a given disaster situation by the EC or NCS. 5.12 Staging Area Command Post (SACP): A station designated by the EC, or the NCS to assume responsibility for operation at a staging area. 5.13 The SACP shall maintain a list of available stations and equipment at the staging area and record movements to and from his staging area. 5.14 The SACP should be as self-supporting as possible. 5.15 On Scene Command Post (OSCP): A station designated by the EC or NCS to coordinate all communications in and out of the immediate disaster site. 5.16 The OSCP should be located in close proximity to the disaster site for possible simplex communication but should not be located within the geographical boundaries of the disaster. If possible, the OSCP should be co-located with other emergency service command posts (police, fire, etc). 5.17 Portable stations operating within the disaster site should communicate with each other and the OSCP on simplex. 5.18 The OSP shall coordinate with other ARES communications centers on matters affecting the disaster site. 5.19 Disaster Plan Activation 5.20 Activation of this disaster plan shall be by the EC or his/her designate upon request of one or more client agencies. 5.21 Agencies for which ARES has memorandums of understanding with include: Outagamie County Emergency Management Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department National Weather Service The American National Red Cross City of Appleton Emergency Government Civil Air Patrol The Associated Public Safety Communications Officers, Inc. The Federal Emergency Management Agency The Salvation Army The National Communications System The Oneida Nation The City of Appleton 5.22 In addition, the EC or his/her designate may activate the disaster plan on their own authority in anticipation of a request for emergency communications by a client agency when it is apparent an emergency situation exists for is imminent. 5.23 ARES Member Activities 5.24 During a disaster situation, individual members available for assignment will be identified by the NCS and assigned as necessary. 5.25 ARES volunteers may be assigned directly to the disaster site or to a staging area by the NCS. If assigned to the disaster site, volunteers should check in, in person, with the OSCP. Do not use the radio for this check-in. 5.26 All ARES volunteers assigned either to the disaster site or to a staging area should have in their possession ARES or Emergency Management identification cards. Other identification may be required and /or supplied. 5.27 In order to avoid the added confusion of unnecessary and unauthorized personnel on the scene, only those volunteers directly assigned to the disaster site or staging areas should go there 5.28 Once at the disaster site, individual ARES members should identify themselves to the OSCP for assignment. 5.29 All volunteers should be equipped with portable radios capable of operation both on ARES repeaters and simplex frequencies. Members should also have available mobile units; handy-talkie, magnetic mount antennas and batteries. 5.30 ARES members may be asked to provide communications between the disaster site and support sites such as hospitals, staging areas or served agency command centers. All such traffic must be authenticated by the agency official who originates the message and takes responsibility for it. All traffic must be routed through NCS. Always indicate precedence. 5.31 In all instances the mission of ARES is to provide communications support to served agencies. ARES members should undertake no actions other than this primary mission unless specifically requested b the served agency. Communication is the only responsibility, not fire fighting, law enforcement, first aid, or any other activity. Clear all non-communications assignments with the EC. 5.32 While a disaster situation may require the taking of certain calculated risks in order to accomplish the mission, ARES members are responsible for their own safety and should take no action, which places them in personal jeopardy. In a questionable situation, pull back and report your situation to the NCS. 5.33 Disaster Communication Guidelines 5.34 In any disaster situation it will be necessary for the EC, his/her designate or NCS to evaluate the physical layout of the disaster site or sites and their relationship to other sites where ARES communications will be required. 5.35 In a geographically confined disaster, where all sites requiring communications are relatively close together, communications between them should be on an ARES simplex frequency. The ARES repeater input frequency should be considered a priority channel and secured by the NCS. 5.36 If the disaster site cannot be adequately covered by simplex communications and the ARES repeater cannot be used, an alternate repeater may be chosen for primary operation, and this frequency will be announced by the NCS, BNCS, EC, or his/her alternate. 5.37 In the event local area simplex is used, an OSCP will be established to coordinate with other ARES communications centers via repeater or other primary frequency. 5.39 In the event several sites are using simplex communications and interference between sites is experienced or anticipated, use alternate simplex frequencies. Other area repeaters may be used provided agreements for use are made with the control operator on affected systems. Whenever possible, coordination between ARES communication centers should be made on the primary frequency. 5.40 Whenever possible all formal traffic should be written. Automatic taping of repeater transmissions may be initiated at the onset of the emergency. 5.41 MOBILIAZTION OF ARES MEMBERS 5.415 Safety of ARES members is paramount. Under no circumstances should ARES members intentionally place themselves in harms way. Entering an area of known danger may cause death or serious injury to the individual as well as complicating the job of the served agency we are supporting. 5.416 In the event of a large scale evacuation involving the home location of an ARES member, ensure the safety, security and care of your family and your personal evacuation before reporting to duty as an ARES member. 5.42 As soon as the need or impending need for movements of ARES members becomes apparent, the EC, his/her designate, or the NCS should activate one or more staging areas as necessary to provide a gathering point for incoming ARES personnel. 5.43 As personnel are required, they may be moved from the staging areas(s) using a minimum number of vehicles to avoid further congestion at the disaster site. 5.44 The use of staging areas also provides ARES management personnel with definite numbers of people and equipment available. 5.45 Each staging area activated will be assigned a command post station. 5.46 Equipment and/or identification materials my be issued from the ARES kit to members for use during operation. These materials must be receipt for and must be returned when the operation is secured or earlier if required. 6.0 MUTUAL AID WITH SURROUNDING COUNTIES ARES 6.01 It is probable, in the event of a disaster, which is extensive in area or duration; local ARES resources will be insufficient. For this reason, Outagamie County ARES has established, and maintains mutual assistance agreements with the surrounding counties. 6.02 In the event Outagamie County ARES resources are insufficient to handle the communications requirements of a local emergency, the EC or his designate will proceed as follows: 6.03 Obtain permission from proper civil authority to request assistance from outside the county. If approval is granted, he/she will ascertain any limitations as to numbers, identification, route to be traveled, assembly areas, and assignments. 6.04 Initiate request for assistance via most direct means available to adjacent county or counties, request should also outline the nature of emergency, special talents or equipment needed, extent of identifying information necessary as to persons who are being sent to assist, anticipated duration of need, route or routes of travel and assembly point. 6.05 Assign an assistant EC or other responsible persons to meet incoming volunteers at the assembly point, verify identification and issue passes, conduct a briefing, and dispatch the personnel to their assignments. 6.06 In the event Outagamie County ARES is requested to supply personnel to assist during an emergency in another county, the EC will proceed as follows: 6.07 Initiate a directed net (and telephone tree, if necessary) for the purpose of advising members of the nature of the request and configuring a list of volunteers. The list should contain name, call, address (if not current in the ARES database), and automobile license plate number, Additional identifying information may be required by the host county and probably can be best obtained at staging. The net should also be advised as to equipment and supplies to bring, the estimated Duration of the operation and the location of the assembly point to be used for staging prior to departure from the county. 6.08 The list of volunteers may be sent ahead to the host county by the most direct means available. 6.09 All volunteers will assemble at a designated assembly point. An Assistant EC or other person appointed by the EC will log in volunteers against the list configured during the NET, verify the information is correct and request additional information as necessary. He/she will then conduct a briefing regarding the route to be followed, the assembly point to be used in the host county and other pertinent information or procedur4es. 6.10 The volunteers will then travel together to the host county along the designated route to the assembly point and thereupon assume the assignments made by the host. 6.11 Where liaison is not possible on the ARES repeater, then communications with other counties will be maintained on the ARES/RACS repeater used in that jurisdiction. Communications with the county needing aid may be handled on the Wisconsin Badger Emergency Net Frequency of 3.985 MHZ if all other communications fail. 7.0 Providing Hospital Communication Assistance 7.01 Outagamie County ARES has agreed to assist area hospitals including Appleton Medical Center (AMC), St. Elizabeth Hospital, and the New London Family Medical Center in the event of disaster. 7.02 Due to the sensitive nature of Patient confidentiality, caution must be used when passing messages for hospitals, doctors and other care providers. Use of names, exact conditions, and other information of a personal nature must not be passed through voice traffic. Use of Packet Radio and WINLINK 2000 will provide some privacy but as of this time (April 2008) is not considered secure enough without hospital agreement. . Only quantity of persons being transported from incident to the hospital and general condition may be expressed via voice communications. 7.03 Use of third party traffic is highly encouraged when dealing with medical emergencies and medical professionals may need to give specific instructions to persons at an incident site. 7.04 Tests inside area hospitals have proven UHF (70cm) operation is the most reliable within the hospital buildings. Cross-band UHF operation from within the hospital to external cross-band VHF repeat devices is strongly encouraged. 7.05 Use of headsets with radios within the hospital is recommended to avoid audio interference with conversations within the hospital. 7.06 Entry to Appleton Medical Center 7.06.1 Appleton Medical Center is located at 1818N Meade St Appleton. Enter through main entrance(South West side) and contact the information desk for escort to the Ground Floor Board room (AMC Emergency Operations Center). 7.06.2 AMC antenna connection is located in South West corner of the board room. A power supply is located in the cabinet above the antenna connection. You will need to bring your own radio. Also you will need your own TNC if Winlink or packet operation is required. 7.07 Entry to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital 7.07.1 St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is located at 1506 S. Oneida St, Appleton. Enter through the North Entrance near the Emergency Room Entrance. Contact the Security office just inside the door for escort to the office area. The Antenna connection is located near the break area. The power supply and a 2 meter radio are stored in a cabinet at the end of the aisle way. If Winlink or packet is to be used, you just provide a TNC, computer and dual band radio. 8. Standards of Conduct for ARES members 8.1 All ARES members are to maintain a professional image when responding to a disaster or exercise. The use of added on yellow lights when responding to for ARES events is prohibited. 8.2 To promote a positive image with the community and media, use of military surplus clothing BDU’s/Fatigues is to be avoided. The exception is cold/rain gear during inclement conditions. 8.3 All ARES members must maintain their radios to comply with FCC regulations. Modifying radios to transmit on public service (i.e. police, fire, Aviation etc) frequencies is strictly prohibited. 8.4 The following standards are the minimum that all ARES members must perform to remain on the roster for ARES. a. All ARES members must perform as Net Control for at least one Sunday night Net per year. b. All ARES members must give their intent of remaining an Outagamie County ARES member by originating one formal message on either the ARRL Radiogram or the ICS 213 form, and sending the traffic formally on a net to the Outagamie County EC NLT than March 31, 2006. (You can send it formally on our Sunday Net or any other net that handles traffic). c. All ARES members must attend one ARES meeting or ARES sponsored event per year. d. All ARES members must check into one Outagamie County ARES net per Quarter. (For those working Sunday nights, allowances will be made). APPENDIX Standard ARRL Message Format I. The message consists of the following parts: A. Preamble B. Addressee C. Text D. Signature II. The Preamble A. Message Number-This is a number assigned to each message by the originating station B. Precedence 1. Emergency – Any message having life and death urgency to any person or group Of persons, which is transmitted by amateur radio in absence of regular commercial Facilities. This included official messages of welfare agencies during emergencies Requesting supplies, material or instructions vital to relief of stricken populace in emergency areas. On CW/RTTY this designation will always be spelled out. 2. Priority – Use abbreviation P on CW/RTTY. This classification is for important message having a specific time limit and official messages not covered in the emergency category and press dispatches and emergency related traffic not of the utmost urgency and notice of death or injury in a disaster area, personal, or official. 3. Welfare – This classification, abbreviated as W on CW/RTTY, refers to either an inquiry as to the health and welfare of an individual in the disaster area or the reply to such an inquiry which indicates all is well. Welfare traffic is cleared/handled only after all emergency and priority traffic has been cleared. The Red Cross equivalent to incoming welfare message is DW (Disaster Welfare Inquiry). 4. Routine - Most traffic in normal periods will bear this designation. In disaster situations, traffic labeled Routine (R on CW/RTTY) should be handled last or not at all when circuits are busy with higher priority traffic. Most traffic handled on Amateur circuits in normal times will fall into this category. C. Handling Instructions – This 3 letter code tells operators handling your message through NTS any special instructions you may request. These instructions are optional at the originating station. 1. HXA – Followed by a number - collect land line call authorized by addressee within miles. Mileage unlimited if no number. 2. HXB - Followed by a number – cancel message if not delivered within ______ hours of filing time. Mileage unlimited if no number. 3. HXC – Report date and time of delivery (TOD) to originating station. 4. HXD – Report to originating station the identity of station from which received, plus date and time. Report identity of station to which relayed, plus date and time, or if delivered report date, time and method of delivery. 5. HXE – Delivering station get reply from addressee, originate message back. 6. HXF – (Followed by number). Hold delivery until (date) HXG – Delivery by mail or landline toll call not required. If toll or other expense involved, cancel message and service originating station. D. Originating Station – This is the Amateur Station who is originating the traffic. E. Check – This is the word count of the text. May be preceded by initials ARL, this means the ARRL numbered radiograms are used in the text. G. Time – Generally in UTC. The time the message was originated. H. Date – The date of the origination. III. Addressee – Person the message is being sent to. Telephone number – The telephone number of the addressee. IV. Text – The body of the message. This should not exceed 25 words in length. V. Signature – The signature of the sending party. IV. Received by – The Amateur Station the message was received from. VII. Sent to – The Amateur station the message was sent to. Consent and Release of Liability Consent of Parent or Guardian (If the individual volunteering is under the age of eighteen (18) years of age, his or her parent or legal guardian must complete the following): I, _______________________________, the undersigned parent/guardian (strike one) of: Name Date of Birth ___/___/_____ Hereby give my son/daughter/ward (strike two) permission to volunteer for and participate in an ARES/RACES activity and I am executing the following release on his/her behalf. Release of Liability KNOWN ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that I, the undersigned, in consideration of the opportunity to volunteer for and participate in a communications activity in conjunction with the ARES do hereby forever release and discharge the Emergency Coordinator, all of the Assistant Emergency Coordinators, and all members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service from any and all claims, damages, or causes of action which may arise from my voluntary participation in such communication activity. Dated this _____ day of _____ 20____. Signed ___________________________________________________________________ Parent or Guardian Outagamie County ARES Weekly Net Preamble At 7:59 PM on the 146.655 repeaters, announce the Outagamie County ARES Net will begin in 1 minute. PREAMBLE Calling the Outagamie County ARES net, calling the Outagamie County Amateur Radio Emergency Services Net. Your Net Control Station this evening is ______________________, my name is _____________, and I am located in ____________________. This net meets each Sunday Evening at 8:00 PM local time on the 146.655 repeaters. In the event of a repeater failure, the net will move to the 145.150 Red Cross repeater. The repeater system is a voted system. Please key the microphone and wait 1 second before speaking so no information is lost. The purpose of this net is for information exchange and for training and education of ARES and RACES matters. This is a directed net, therefore, all communications on this net are under the direction of the net control station; however, emergency traffic may break the net at any time. To prevent doubling of signals during check in, please call net control, let the repeater drop, and then give your call sign to Net Control. After all stations have checked in, I will contact all stations for a second go for any comments, questions, or activities you would like to share with the net. Is there any emergency or priority traffic? Please call ____________________________. We will now standby for any formal written traffic, please call _____________________. We will now standby for short time, portable, or mobile stations, please call_______________________. We will now standby for Outagamie County ARES stations, please call___________________________. We will not standby for any stations anywhere, with or without traffic, please call___________________. Are there any reports from the Emergency Coordinator? Are there any reports from the Assistant Emergency Coordinators? Are there any discussion items this evening by any of the members on the NET? We will now standby for any stations anywhere with or without traffic, please call__________________. (NOTE: Net Control will contact each that has checked in for their ARES/RACES comments; or any personal activities the station would like to share with the NET.) At this time I (net Control) will call on stations that have checked in for a second go. I will call each station in the order that you checked in for a report on your activities, any discussion items or comments you would like to share with the NET.) I would like to thank everyone for checking in this evening. We would also like to thank EC Resources (or the Red Cross) for the use of the repeater. Everyone is welcome back next week when the net control station will be ___________________. Until then, this is _________________ signing the Outagamie County ARES net clear at ______________ hours and returning the repeater back to normal amateur use. 73’s and everyone have a good week. Note: Ask for check ins more than once. NOTE: Upon completion of the NET, forward the call signs of all stations checking in, as well as the date, time, start time of NET, and time the net ended Via E-mail to the Emergency coordinator. OUTAGAMIE COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER ENTRY PROCEDURES 8:00 AM TO 5:00 PM 1. To speed access to the communications room, call the Comm Center (920-832-5041) with an approximate time of your arrival. 2. Enter the Justice Center through the Main Entrance (West). (You will be required to pass through a metal detector). 3. Enter either elevator at Main Entrance (West) end of building. 4. Take elevator to Ground Floor and exit elevator. 5. Enter Sheriff’s Department reception area and identify yourself. (When in the Justice Center, wear your Outagamie County Identification Badge. 6. Move to Communications Center and identify yourself. 5:01 PM to 7:59 AM 1. To speed access to the communications room, call the Comm Center (920-832-5041) with an approximate time of your arrival. 2. Stop at Huber Entrance on Southeast side of the Justice Center. 3. Depress the speaker button and identify yourself and the purpose of your visit to the Control Center (Use ARES Operator number and name). 4. Enter and move through hallway to Elevator 3 in center of building. (Identification Card should be worn when in Justice Center). You may be taken immediately to the ground floor. 5. Enter elevator and move to Central Control for Sign in. 6. Take elevator 3 to Ground Floor. 7. Move to Communications Center, identify yourself and enter. 8. Reverse procedures to sign out and exit building. OUTAGAMIE COUNTY ARES OPERATIONS  FREQUENCY LIST Repeaters 146.055 MHZ input/146.655 MHZ output  EC Resources, Ltd  100 PL tone 144.550 MHZ input/145.150 MHZ output  American Red Cross  100 PL  146.160 MHZ input/146.760 MHZ output  Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club 100 PL 146.160 MHZ input/146.760 MHZ output  FCARC Remote site   107.2 PL  144.730 MHZ input/145.330 MHZ output  Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club 100 PL  448.175 MHZ input/442.175 MHZ output  W9RIC    100 PL  449.650 MHZ input/443.650 MHZ output  Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club 100 PL  The Emergency Coordinator is responsible for advising ARES members and the Outagamie County Emergency Management Coordinator, which is the primary ARES repeater. Simplex VHF UHF 146.550 MHZ -Tac 1 446.000 MHZ - Tac 5 146.400 MHZ -Tac 2 446.200 MHZ - Tac 6 146.520 MHZ -Tac 3 446.300 MHZ - Tac 7 147.570 MHZ -Tac 4 446.400 MHZ - Tac 8  The following are tactical frequencies, which may be used during ARES activities:    Packet   Winlink GATEWAY 145.610 MHZ Winlink Airmail Peer to Peer    145.650 MHZ APRS 144.390  MHZ WORKING WITH THE MEDIA During a disaster or even a Skywarn Net chances are you may be asked to comment on the activity you are engaged in by a member of the media. These procedures should help you work with the media, who may be extremely friendly and considerate or rude and demanding. A disaster is a highly stressful situation and if you do not feel you want to talk with the media, advise them you will not comment and be direct. To aid you in talking with the media, upon assignment in an incident, fill out the ARES Public Information Worksheet (Attachment 1) and keep close for accurate references. 1. Operator A. Information flow 1. Clients: Victims, evacuees, or support staff of served agency. 2. Media a. Refer questions to the Incident Public Information Officer (PIO). b. State who is requesting and the question or request 3. Net Control a. Keep updated on the situation b. Report only information requested by NCS 1. Time –1145 A.M. 2. Location-intersection of 45 and 10 3. Condition-1/2 inch hail B. Identification 1. Vehicles 2. Individuals 3. Equipment 4. Secure area, display a sign indicating “Authorized Personnel Only”. II Net Control A. Log all media contacts, direct or from operators B. Contact agency official and verify specific requirements for media contact C. Maintain a current fact sheet for media · Who (Public Information officer) ? What ? Where ? When ? Why ? How D. Identification 1. Vehicles 2. Individuals 3. Equipment 4. Secure area, display a sign indicating “Authorized Personnel Only” E. Conduct Scheduled reports with agency officials F. Provide information on ARES activities only 1. Operators 2. Position 3. Traffic Handled G. Orient New operators and NCS on public affairs H. Responsibilities 1. Define 2. Document 3. Disseminate: NCS, operators, media, and clients III Tips A. Earphones, headsets B. Secure the operating area C. We are only conduits. Do not volunteer any information to the media. Direct all conversations through the served agency official. (PIO). D. Kits 1. Identification kits 2. Prepared media releases 3. Radio kits 4. Scenarios and responses E. Interviews 1. Do not become frustrated if you do not know the answer 2. Do not speculate, remember, just the facts. 3. If you do not know the details, seek help. 4. Do not release specifics about a. Nature of disaster b. Affected area c. Individuals affected IV. Methods of activation of governing bodies A. NOAA weather 1. Interviews a. State your function and ARES role in the operation b. State current conditions and observations c. Provide the number of units in the field and their locations d. How much experience e. Affected area f. Contact NCS for permission to release any other information B. Outagamie County Emergency Management/ City Of Appleton, Oneida Nation 1. Interviews a. State your function and ARES role in the operation b. Contact NCS for permission to release any other information C. Red Cross 1. Interviews a. State your function and ARES role in the operation b. Refer all other questions to the Red Cross Public Affairs Officer. D. Remote Site (State Division of Emergency Management) 1. Interviews a. State your function and ARES role in the operation. b. Contact NCS for permission to release any other information WINLINK 2000/APRS RADIO A. WINLINK 2000 is a preferred digital mode for ARES/RACES Digital Traffic. At this time Packet Nodes in the area are no longer in service. B. Under construction. Appendix B Outagamie County ARES Evacuation Plan B 1.0 In the event of an evacuation of part or all Outagamie CO, ARES will assist as directed by County Emergency Management and served agencies. Due to the complex nature of evacuations and the amount of unknown circumstances that can occur, flexibility of all actions may be necessary. ARES may not be needed in small area evacuations, however, if shelters are manned by Red Cross or other agencies, we may be tasked to assist. If evacuation is widespread/multicounty, assistance from surrounding counties will be difficult to impossible. B 1.1 Expect assistance from hams that are not ARES registered. Due to NIMS/ICS requirements, walk in volunteers will be referred to location for NIMS/ICS training. Walk in volunteers will NOT be used in shelter situations/comm center or Net control operations until NIMS/ICS certified. B 1.2 Definitions of Evacuations: B1.21 Site Evacuation Small-scale localized event Involves small number of citizens Short evacuation times Causes may be severe weather damage, hazardous material incident major fire or bomb threat EOC not activated ARES would most likely not respond B1.22 Intermediate Level Evacuation Involves larger number of citizens and large area Emergency Operations Center may be activated and may request ARES Affects “off site” homes and business (normally fewer than 100 people). Evacuation time may be 2 to 4 or more hours long. B1.23 Large Scale Evacuation Required in event of significant natural or technological disaster, or local terrorist threat or attack Thousands of citizens could be evacuated ARES members may need to evacuate their homes and not be available Rapid evacuation of homes may be required for multiple hours or even days Shelters will need to be opened and manned Documentation of evacuees becomes difficult but more important EOC will be activated Emergency Management plans and county mutual aid agreements plans put in Action B 1.24 Mass Evacuation Caused by major disaster in local jurisdiction Requires implementation of a regional, multi-jurisdictional evacuation and sheltering operations Tens of thousands of individuals may need to be evacuated from a geographic area for an extended period of time Local resources would be exhausted and significant state and federal assistance are needed to support the evacuation and sheltering operations EOC and Emergency Management Plans are activated B 2.0 ARES members may need to evacuate their home(s). Due to the fluid environment of an Evacuation, if you are ordered to evacuate you may find it difficult to proceed to an ARES assembly point or assigned location. In this case, proceed as directed by civil authorities and if possible maintain radio contact with Outagamie Net Control. Upon arrival at evacuation shelter/center, contact the local ARES Net and or Emergency Coordinator and offer assistance if you are able at that location. B 2.1 ARES members not evacuated: 1. EC, AEC: a. Assign unaffected station as Net Control Station (NCS) b. Perform Call up of stations not checked in if telephone system is operational c. If accessible assign two Outagamie Co ARES members to Justice Center or Alternate EOC i. AEC (if possible) to EOC ii. Radio Operator to Comm Center d. Contact District EC and notify of Activation and potential need of assistance, and possible inflow of evacuees to surrounding counties e. Assign HF relay Station for contact to Wisconsin Emergency Management if possible f. If radio operators that are not ARES registered offer assistance deploy those operators to assist ARES members at assembly points, shelters, hospitals and other requested locations. g. Assign county Liaison stations to surrounding counties. 2. ARES Members a. Check into the Net and monitor for possible assignments b. Deploy to assigned area if possible. c. Monitor Commercial Broadcast Radio for updates to the situation if traveling to an assignment area. d. Monitor weather conditions especially wind speed and direction if a chemical/hazmat spill has occurred e. If evacuated, please check into the ARES net and give reports of traffic conditions, problems as appropriate and when requested. THE END Attachment 1 Media Worksheet My name is _______________________ and I am a ham radio operator with the Outagamie County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) assisting in the _______________________________ Incident/Event. Our job is to assist in communications between various agencies involved. My specific job at this location is to:_______________________________________. For exact information of the incident/event, please copy the Public Information Officer of: Outagamie County or the City of __________________________________ At___________________________________________________________. (information will be provided from EOC through Net Control) For Media contacts on the Sheltering and Food assistance to evacuees (if applicable) please contact: (information will be provided from EOC through Net Control) Agency Location/Phone/contact method Agency PIO Red Cross Salvation Army Southern Baptist Convention For Information of persons hospitalize: Hospital Phone or other contact info Hospital PIO Appleton Medical Center St. Elizabeth New London Family Medical For information on Animal Sheltering/Assistance Agency Location/Phone or Agency PIO For information on_______________________________________- Agency Location/Phone or Agency PIO Attachment 2 OUTAGAMIE ARES SEVERE WX REPORT Date:__________ Time______ Location: (distance from major intersection). Condition: HAIL: Size____________________________________________________________________ WIND Speed in MPH___________________________ Measured or Estimated (Circle one) WALL CLOUD ROTATING WALL CLOUD FUNNEL CLOUD ALOFT TORNADO Direction and Approximate speed_____________________________________________ OTHER: Rain in excess of___________inches per hour. FLOODING: Water level approximately ____________________ deep. DAMAGE: Limbs down. Trees down Power Lines down Structural Damage________________ Other__________________ STATION_____________________________ Instructions for Use: Net Control, National Weather Service Liaison and Comm Center stations will use all columns. Reporting Stations will only need to fill out Time Locations and Condition. Please retain your copy. Use Station if relaying for another station. Use remarks if receiving reports from others then yourself. LOCATION: Use closest major street intersections as possible: Example: 3 miles north of US 54 on US 45. TIME: Use local time only. If unsure say unsure CONDITIONS: Use only conditions listed in Reportable Criteria as listed in the SKYWARN NET Severe Weather Reporting Criteria Outline. STATION: Always report the station. If not a trained ARES spotter report may require ARES verify accuracy. Do not relay second hand information, TV reports, or scanner reports. ARES Communication Plan Page 38 of 39 ARES Communication Plan Page 39 of 39