[KYHAM] KEN Training for March 4: BASIC RULES OF EMERGENCY OPERATION Part 2

[Ron Dodson]

When the emergency is over, the Emergency Coordinator,
or the amateur in charge, MUST file a report with the
District Emergency Coordinator. The report should
include a description of the traffic handled, duration
of the net, participants, and agencies served. This
will be invaluable during a critique session.

An emergency situation may take many forms. This could
include minor communications assistance to local Police
Authorities in assisting with traffic or crowd control
to serving one or more agencies in a major state wide
disaster such as a chemical spill or earthquake. If the
disaster is major and no firm links to the outside have
been established, every effort will be made to get an
aircraft over the affected area with an amateur radio
operator aboard monitoring 146.550 MHz simplex.

Likewise, the emergency may be confined to an area of a
few hundred feet to several counties. ARES members must
be able to respond to these situations in a timely and
efficient manner.

Should an emergency situation arise which may require
the assistance of Kentucky ARES members, the following
must be kept in mind:

In most situations, the affected area will be local in
nature, confined to a local community or part of a
community. For local communications to be effective,
each EC in the area is encouraged to establish a
working relationship with served agencies in the area
particularly the local DEM official.

In all instances, ARES personnel should not begin to
assist unless called upon by an official of the Served
Agency, unless the EC and the served official have
worked out specific other arrangements on a broader
basis. It is hoped that the local EC has made prior
efforts to see to it that the Served Agencies are aware
of what radio amateurs can provide. In all instances,
it is assumed that the official of the Served Agency
will contact the local EC to request assistance.

Once the local EC has received the call for assistance,
he should begin notifying his ARES registered amateurs
of the situation. He should also notify the District
Emergency Coordinator, or in his absence, the Section
Emergency Coordinator of the situation

In the case of a local emergency, the EC should begin
call-up procedures for emergency net activation on the
local emergency frequency. This is usually accomplished
via a repeater to provide for a wide area coverage,
however a simplex two meter frequency would suffice if
coverage is adequate. Once the net is activated, the EC
or his appointed control operator will act as net
control for as long as necessary. The NCS should make
every effort to see that emergency traffic is handled
in the most efficient manner as possible. A listing of
all traffic, check-ins (especially mobile) and agencies
served should be recorded. For additional information,
refer to the ARRL Emergency Coordinator's Manual.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will traffic be accepted
addressed to the Governor. The Executive Director of
DEM is designated by the Governor to handle such
matters, and is the highest State Official to whom
traffic may be addressed.

In order of priority, requests from Division of
Emergency Management shall be answered first, followed
by the Red Cross, then other agencies as is necessary.
Red Cross has it's State Headquarters in Louisville,
and will most likely receive primary communication
support from members of the ARTS Amateur Radio Club,
followed by other clubs in the area.

Health and Welfare traffic will likely, NOT be accepted
for
several hours, due to the inability to handle such
traffic. In a major emergency, the emphasis will be on
handling true emergency traffic which provides
immediate relief from suffering and saving lives.

The use of Tactical callsigns during an emergency
should provide some indication of the station's
operating location. Stations operating for example from
Boone Emergency Operations Center should use "Boone
Center" and stations operating in the Fayette county
EOC should identify themselves as "Fayette EOC".
Identification is a requirement of the FCC. Stations
must give a complete station identification at least
once in a 10-minute operating period, particularly when
tactical calls are being used.

Under no circumstances will any ARES appointee attempt
to provide support communications for any agency until
instructed do so by the agency officials.