DEPLOYMENT REQUEST
CALLSIGN:
DATE/TME:
Emergency
Communication
Incident:
Thanks for
volunteering! You have expressed your
consent to help
The Director,
Assistant
Director, Dispatcher, RO, EC, or AEC that gave you your assignment:
NAME OF THE
AGENCY YOU ARE
SERVING:
CONTACT PERSON
AT THE
AGENCY:
TELEPHONE:
LOCATION YOU ARE
TO REPORT
TO:
The following
pages contain
several items of importance, which you should read before
leaving for
your assignment. If you have questions
concerning any of these items, ask them of the person who assigned you before
you leave.
ARES = Amateur Radio Emergency
Service, sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (a private
organization).
RACES = Radio Amateur Emergency
Service, administered by Allegany County Emergency Management (a
governmental
body).
ARRL – MDC Section
Emergency
Coordinator: WA1QAA, Mike Carr
Maryland Chief RACES
Officer: W3YRS,
Al Fitzsimons
District Emergency
Coordinator: N/A
ARRL - MDC - Allegany
ARRL -
MDC -
American
Red Cross –
ARES/RACES
OPERATING FREQUENCIES
PRIMARY REPEATER
146.880 MHz output,
146.280 MHz
input, PL 123, FM. W3YMW (Phone Patch) MARC Repeater
SECONDARY REPEATER
145.450 MHz output,
144.850 MHz
input, PL 123, FM. W3YMW MARC Repeater
PRIMARY SIMPLEX
146.520 MHz, FM
SECURITY SIMPLEX (Security transmissions
only.)
146.560 MHz, FM
PRIMARY HF
28.405 USB, 10 Meter for
3.920
All operators
need to
know what to do and how to do it when it comes to operating in our
voice
net. Here are some tips that all
operators should heed.
1.
Make
sure you have your HT on the correct frequency,
with the correct PL, to avoid delays.
Also, lock in the frequency to prevent unwanted changes if you
accidentally bump a button. Use the
minimum power necessary to communicate reliably to stay within FCC
guidelines
and to conserve your batteries. Insure
that all your equipment (including antennas) is in good working
condition before
you leave for your assignment. Make sure
your batteries are charged and you have spares with you.
2.
Be
on time and handle your traffic on the net in a
timely manner. Remember that this is an
emergency net – make your transmissions short, clear and to the point.
3.
Always
follow the instructions of the NCS – they have
absolute control over the net. Always go
through the NCS when you need to speak to another station. Let the NCS run the net and resist any
temptation
to help them do their job. If you leave
the net for any reason, be sure to ask permission of the NCS first. Otherwise, they may call you for a safety
status check if they do not know you are gone.
When transmitting, keep everything short and simple. “Net control, this is W3YMW.
Request permission to be off the air for
approximately 8 minutes while I fill with gas for the next assignment.” Assuming you have finished and are
back: “Net control, this is W3YMW. Back on the air and proceeding to my next
assignment”.
4.
Know
something about the area around your
assignment. Have a map of the area with
you, if possible.
5.
Get
all the information you can (situation, location,
frequencies, shift length, agency of primary responsibility, reporting
time, etc.)
before going into action. These sheets
will help you do that.
6.
Remember,
WE MUST PASS ON TRAFFIC EXACTLY THE
WAY WE RECEIVE IT. If you have a
question concerning a message, ask it before you pass it on. Do not assume anything where a piece of
traffic
is concerned.
7.
On
VHF/UHF voice networks, we assume message
importance (“precedence”) is Routine (choices are Routine, Welfare,
Priority
and Emergency) unless otherwise stated.
Know the importance classification for each piece of traffic you
receive. If you are to send a message
and no precedence has been assigned by the sender, try to set it
yourself and
transmit it with the message. Remember
that Emergency is reserved for messages that have life and death
urgency. Use this classification only when
it is that
important. Priority messages have a
specific time limit or time sensitive nature.
Check the “pink card” (ARRL FSD-218) for details.
Realize that if a message's precedence is set
too high, a more important message may become delayed.
If set too low, your message may be
delayed. Timely delivery of a piece of
traffic is just as important as the content.
8.
Insure,
where possible, that you have each piece of
traffic in writing. A later reference or
correction may be required. Keep a log,
as you can, listing each message you send or receive.
Date, time, who sent
it, who it was addressed to and a few words describing its content are
important.
A
poor message:
"Calling
Nick Tate, I have a message here from a deputy in Fredonia; he wants
two
ambulances up there right away to take care of more injured.
The
preceding message doesn’t tell who sent it or where it needs to go,
and there are other important elements missing as well.
The same message in proper voice format might
read as follows:
Net control, this
is Command Post 1 with an Emergency message for the Ambulance Commander. Deputy Noah Thomas in Fredonia requests two
more ambulances at Fredonia Fire Station, as soon as possible, to
handle
additional injured parties.
Incident Command System
All
fire
personnel and many law enforcement agencies use the Incident Command
System (ICS),
a management tool designed to assist anyone
who has the responsibility for the successful outcome of an emergency
incident. An emergency incident is 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 or natural resources. ICS
training requires hours of study, even at
the basic level. You have no time for
that now. However, below are a few terms
and definitions – you may hear these or need to pass them in messages.
Incident
Command Post (ICP), or just Command
Post (CP): The place
where the IC and other members of
the Command Staff do their work. The
Command Staff assists the IC and reports directly to the IC. In a large incident, all five of the
following sections of the Command Staff may be operating.
The heads of 2 – 5 are known as Chiefs.
2. Operations - responsible for directing the tactical actions to meet incident objectives. The Operations Section commonly uses Branches, Divisions, Groups, Task Forces and Strike Teams to maintain unity, chain of command and span of control.
Base: location
where
primary logistics functions are coordinated and administered. This may or may not be co-located with the
CP.
Clear
Text:
plain English – no ten-codes or other
agency-specific codes are used for communications.
Under ICS, messages are supposed to be passed
in clear text.
EM: Emergency
Manager.
EOC:
HazMat: Hazardous
Materials.
Helibase: facility
for parking, fueling, maintenance
and loading of helicopters.
Helispot: a
designated location where helicopters can
safely take off and land.
Information
Officer:
member of the Command Staff responsible for
interfacing with the public and media.
Mutual
Aid: agreement
between agencies to assist each
other with personnel and equipment.
Perimeter: a zone or
line that encloses an area of
limited access. Note the following three
zones inside a perimeter for HazMat incidents.
Staging
Area:
locations where resources are placed while
awaiting tactical assignment.
Callsign:
Signature:
Date/Time:
P.O. Box
414 Hudson Avenue
Rob Peterson, N3LJS – RACES Officer / ARRL
Emergency
Coordinator
1-301-697-5388
Rev.