Emergency Communication (EmCom) Study Guide January 2001 Emergency Communication (EmCom) Study Guide I. Level I - Overview and Generalized Training Prerequisite - a good attitude. Introduction 1. Introduction to Emergency and Public Service Communication . What is a Communications Emergency B. Public Service Communication C. Organizations to meet communcation goals D. Who runs the event - PRIMARY SERVED AGENCY E. Who talks to the Media (press) - the primary served agency PIO F. How you can get involved 2. Communication . Basic Communication Guidelines B. Public Service and Emergency Communications 1. Getting the message through - Power isn't everything 2. Message Handling 3. ARRL Format Radiograms 4. Personal Safety Considerations 5. Modes of Communication 6. Security Considerations 7. Operating Stress C. Served Agency Communication Systems 3. Nets, what they are and how they work . Net Types B. Net Participant Guidelines C. Traffic Handling http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/EmCom.htm (1 of 3) [2/28/2001 3:32:28 PM] Emergency Communication (EmCom) Study Guide D. CW Nets E. Digital Nets F. Voice Nets 4. Basic Training - an individual check list 5. Practical Experience 6. A.R.E.S. and R.A.C.E.S. 7. National Traffic System (NTS) 8. Equipment . Personal Equipment Checklist B. Standardized connectors C. Knowing your equipment BEFORE you need it D. Equipment maintenance E. Portable antennas, generators, etc F. Equipment Operation (CTCSS, DTMF, etc.) 9. Incident Command System 10. Emergency call outs 11. Packet 12. ATV 13. Skywarn 14. ARRLs Public Service Communications Manual 15. ARRL's DOs and DON'Ts for Public Event Communication Acronyms used in EmCom material. Contributors - the people that made it possible. II. Level II - NCSs and Liaison 1. Net Control Station (NCS) . Characteristics of a good NCS operator B. Learning to be an NCS C. NCS Questions D. NCS Hints and Kinks E. Contingency plans F. Handovers G. Coverage breaks H. Handling an irate participant http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/EmCom.htm (2 of 3) [2/28/2001 3:32:28 PM] Emergency Communication (EmCom) Study Guide I. Handling malicious interference J. Shortcut to being a good NCS - Practice Practice Practice 2. Working with Volunteers 3. Liaison - Connecting the Parts 4. Training others - stay on subject III. Level III - Management Aspects A Level 3 certification indicates that the person certified has attained sufficient grasp of leadership and management knowledge that the person can develop and lead a team of volunteer emergency communicators. As of January 2001 the full development cycle for this material has not been completed. Please see http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/emcom-rd.htm for the work in progress. http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/EmCom.htm (3 of 3) [2/28/2001 3:32:28 PM] EmCom Prerequisite Prerequsite Emergency Communication (EmCom) Certification overview EmCom certification 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 no matter where in the United States they live. 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. The certification program will provide consistency in technical training where ever the person lives. The added benefit comes in that it will be easier to insure the students understand the attitudes necessary to interface with the public service community in a manner which is beneficial to all. There are many personality types in Amateur Radio, some of which lack the necessary knowledge to participate in a positive manner. These people simply need guidance and assistance to understand what the position of Amateur Radio is in public service. The goal therefore is to provide consistently knowledgeable communication people who have a very positive, service oriented attitude. Attitude Before you begin the technical material involved in earning a certification in Emergency Communication (EmCom) it is imperative that you understand your knowledge in EmCom 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 "I'll really show you just how good I am" attitude will only hamper the relations with served agencies. The people you will be serving - remember that word - are professionals that have seen far too many people that are more interested in impressing someone that in getting the job done. You will actually impress them far more by being as quiet as you can and doing your job in the best way possible. Results, without interference of served agency people, will cement relations with your served agency. Please consider: l A ttitude: n. manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc. with regard to a person or thing; tendency or http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/a-tude.htm (1 of 3) [2/28/2001 3:32:29 PM] EmCom Prerequisite orientation, esp. of the mind l S ervice: n. an act of helpful activity; help; aid l P ositive: adj. explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed Or more simply, an explicit mental commitment to help others. Please read that again. A commitment to help others. Are you really ready to commit yourself to this effort? It will take time. A lot of time, if you are to be successful. If you are willing then WELCOME! Please remember the following: Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before presenting the lesson 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 A.R.E.S./R.A.C.E.S. Do not adjust, play with or fiddle with any piece of equipment in use for an event, during that event, unless it is malfunctioning. 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 problem or part of the solution. Questions for this segment The only passing score on attutude is 100%. True, False: The most important "thing" you bring to Emergency Communication is operating skill During an emergency, you are there to provide direction to the served agency(ies) You should be as loud as possible during an emergency You should try to impress everyone with your knowledge It will only take you five minutes to handle any emergency, everyone else will have to stay and do the work http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/a-tude.htm (2 of 3) [2/28/2001 3:32:29 PM] EmCom Prerequisite You need to be a team player You will take direction It's OK to interfere with served agency people Select the most appropriate answer: 1) Your attitude A) Doesn't matter B) Shows how much you know C) Determines the effectiveness of the Amateur Radio participation D) Helps everyone laugh 2) With regard to a person or thing; your attitude A) Is a manner B) Is a disposition C) Is a feeling D) Is a position E) All of the above 3) To serve is to: A) Provide aid B) Provide help C) Provide direction D) None of the above E) All of the above F) A & B only http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/a-tude.htm (3 of 3) [2/28/2001 3:32:29 PM] Introduction to EmCom Introduction to EmCom Introduction to the ARRL CE - EmCom An Amateur Radio license and ARRL Emergency Communication certification is not meant to be a substitute for localized ARES/RACES training. However, neither can localized ARES/RACES training succeed without foundations such as the Amateur Radio license and the background that is essentially the ARRL's emergency communication program. To be successful, one needs all these components: (a) Amateur Radio license (b) the ARRL certification program and (c) localized ARES/RACES training. One could dispense with the ARRL certification program if the local ARES/RACES groups provided all of the same coverage in their training. However there are many districts without any training program and the ARRL certification provides a level of understanding, consistent across the nation. The ARRL certification was never designed to replace local ARES/RACES training. These two programs are complementary and neither will function as effectively by themselves as the two, working together. http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/ec-intro.htm [2/28/2001 3:32:33 PM] Emergency Communication - Introduction Introduction to Emergency Communications I. Overview and Generalized Training 1. Introduction to Emergency and Public Service Communication . What is a Communications Emergency The easiest way to think about a communications emergency is to begin by using the definitions used in the Incident Command System -ICS- (see section I.9 for the Incident Command Overview). "We will define an incident as any planned or unplanned occurrence or event, 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." We can see that during a large scale event it would be possible to have enough information (traffic) flow that the emergency service communications could become overloaded to a level that it would fail to function as required by the incident. 1. What defines a communications emergency? When normal communications processes are inadequate to handle the information flow required to service an incident as defined in the ICS 2. The role Amateur Radio serves Our primary role is to support the emergency management community (responders, relief and recovery agencies) with communications during times of emergency and disaster when normal communications are unavailable or overwhelmed. Please understand that we are NOT a rapid response team. 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. Even the SKYWARN group (information available on the world wide web) does not activate until the National Weather Service has requested our help. As a group we will, in many cases, do more than "just" communicate. You are free to do any work for the served agency that they request of you. So long as you are comfortable doing that work AND it does not hinder your ability to communicate. Most operators think of ARES/RACES as a simple extension of the "talk time" in the hobby. This is not true. ARES/RACES are organizations that continually http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/intro.htm (1 of 5) [2/28/2001 3:32:34 PM] Emergency Communication - Introduction need more trained operators that are willing to learn to communicate rather than just talk. Do you have the time and the drive to do it well? It's not that the trained operators are willing to learn to communicate. It's that the trained operators have learned to communicate accurately in a timely fashion regardless of the obstacles in the event. 3. Why Amateur Radio works when other methods don't . Amateur radio equipment does not rely on wires and communications facilities provided by common carriers and phone companies, thus it is not prone to disruptions with the telephone system. b. Public Service agencies can communicate with each other only if they are on the same frequency. Amateur radio operators have a wide range of frequencies to choose from and thus provide that common frequency. c. Amateur radio enthusiasts use a wide range of radio bands, each one with it's particular strength in overcoming the communication barriers. VHF (Very High Frequency-50, 144, 222 Mhz) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency-440 Mhz and above) radios handle short ranged communications. HF (High Frequency) provide coverage beyond VHF and UHF. All may cover a wide range of communications modes, whether it's TV, data, voice or morse code to exchange messages. The very nature of the amateur radio service encourages amateurs to learn how to make contacts, regardless of the challenges that may abound. d. Amateur radio operators are distributed throughout the community, near schools, churches and park facilities which are often used for evacuation shelters. These operators are then near the scene of the event and can respond quickly. Please note that Amateur Radio operators are NOT first response people in their capacity as ARES/RACES. Should for any reason a section of a town or city be devastated, there is enough equipment and operators ready in other parts of the same community, to respond. e. Regardless of the specific brand and model of radio equipment, amateurs that use the same frequency band and mode can communicate with each other. This is the reverse of private companies and government, where communications is limited to each entity by their FCC license and equipment. In many cases, they are not able to communicate with each other. f. Amateur radio operators are already licensed and pre-authorized to communicate internationally into and out of places hard hit during natural disasters. g. Amateur radio operators are allowed to run higher power than other licensed and unlicensed personal radio services such as Citizen Band (CB), Family Radio Serivce (FRS), General Mobile Radio Serivce (GMRS) and have more flexibility with the equipment. Therfore, they can communicate over greater distances and with greater diversity. http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/intro.htm (2 of 5) [2/28/2001 3:32:34 PM] Emergency Communication - Introduction h. Amateur radio operators are encouraged to use their equipment regularly which verifies that it's maintained and operational. Thus the amateur radio operators are familiar with the operation and capabilities of their equipment, and how to overcome obstacles to radio communications that may be within their neighborhood. 4. Why the phone companies may not operate during emergencies Communications between agencies and the general public are handled by common carriers such as phone, paging and Internet companies. Phone companies invest large amounts of monies into equipment that provide reliable phone service, including durable and secure buildings, highly reliable phone switches, diesel generators, large banks of batteries. Cellular, paging and Internet companies in turn rely on communications services provided by the phone companies. These phone systems (a) are sized for business reasons for the peaks in regular daily usage, not peaks in emergency usage, (b) usually rely on copper or fiber optic cables which when exposed are prone to damage during high winds, storm and unusual flooding conditions, (c) are usually not portable and reliable enough to respond to the demands of the emergency. These are the most common reasons why normal public communication needs are not met during emergencies. Since Amateur Radio communication does not rely on these same features, it is able to respond to the needs of the emergency. 5. How does Amateur Radio Emergency Communications compare with other amateur radio activities? . Uses basic skills and activites as a foundation. Amateur radio operators will find that much of emergency communications borrows from existing aspects of the hobby. For example: n E ach operator is federally licensed after a period of study and examination on varying levels of technical, operating and regulatory knowledge. n E ach operator routinely uses that privilege to practice and build upon the ability to communicate via radio. n O ne uses general operating practices to converse on repeaters and HF. n N TS practice offers skill sets for passing formal traffic efficiently and accurately. n C ontesting emphasizes speed, listening skills and endurance. n F ield Day offers the chance to practice operating out of tents handling radios powered by generators. n P ublic Service events lets us practice flexible communications practices while walking around serving a public event. In these ways regular amateur radio activities resemble skills used for http://home.earthlink.net/~w0ipl/EmCom/intro.htm (3 of 5) [2/28/2001 3:32:34 PM]