Welcome to the ARRL Amateur Radio

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Welcome to the ARRL Amateur Radio

Introduction to Emergency Communication Course

Preface

Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC) is provided by several different types of emergency communications organizations. ARES, RACES, ACS, SKYWARN, SATERN, REACT, etc. all play an important part in serving their communities. It is not the intent of this course or the management level course to promote any specific group over another.

At the same time, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service®, (ARES®) sponsored by the American Radio Relay League has the longest history of public service of any Amateur Radio emergency communications provider organizations. It is also the largest program and is found in almost every sector of the country. Therefore, knowledge of the ARES program, organizational structure and the duties and responsibilities of key ARES positions is important. Those matters will be discussed in detail in the management level course.

ARRL AREC courses are specifically intended to provide more emergency communications tools to be used as may be appropriate for any given area. What works well fighting forest fires in Colorado may not work in conjunction with flooding in Pennsylvania. Use this information to benefit your community by adding whatever fits your particular area needs. Local protocol and training always takes precedence.

ARES is not an organization itself but a volunteer program of the ARRL and consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Amateur Radio (and ARRL) exists largely due to its strong foundation of volunteers. Membership in ARRL, or any other local or national organization, is not required to participate in ARES-sponsored activities. ARRL membership is, however, required for the ARES leadership appointments described in this course. Through your commitment as an ARRL member, you support many national and local initiatives, such as ARES, and help supply local volunteers, like yourself, with the materials they need to provide excellent public service.

To learn more about ARRL and ARRL membership benefits visit www.ARRL.org.

Every year, thousands of ARES volunteers freely give their technical skills, time and use of equipment in service to their communities. Thank you for your participation.

Unlike general Amateur Radio activities, which involve primarily Amateur Radio operators, emergency communication involves both Amateurs and non-Amateurs.

Unlike regular activities, emergency operations happen in real time. Important activities cannot be delayed for convenience.

Instead of one leisurely net a day, emergency communicators are often dealing with several continuous nets simultaneously to pass critical messages within a limited timeframe.

Unlike public service events that are scheduled and planned, emergency communicators are often asked to organize and coordinate field operations with little or no warning.

Unlike public service events where the communicators serve primarily under the direction of one lead organization, emergency communicators may need to interact with several key organizations simultaneously.

Unlike typical home installations, emergency stations must be portable and able to be set up and operate anywhere in a very short time.

Unlike contesting, which involves contacting any station for points; emergency communicators need to contact specific stations quickly to pass important messages. Teamwork is important, not competition between stations.

Unlike Field Day, where you can plan on a two-day operation, emergency operations have no schedule and are likely to continue for at least several days.

Unlike commercial communication solutions, where there is no reserve capacity for handling a sudden and massive increase in communication volume, Amateur Radio emergency communicators have the equipment, skills, and knowledge to create additional capacity in a very short time.

Course Requirements

The field of emergency response, including communications support, is rapidly changing. In the years following Hurricane Katrina, more and more communications systems are becoming “hardened” and there is more guidance and structure being given from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These changes are ongoing and whatever may be written today may well be outdated tomorrow.

This curriculum increases validity to our claims of significant training and positions us for the possibility of coming government certifications. It also provides an opportunity for other interested people to learn about Amateur Radio and our unique role in emergencies.

We're using "curriculum" because that's really what this is -- a program of study designed to train you in current practices and protocols. We have blended in FEMA independent study courses to cover many of the general topics which you need to know. These will change with time and experience, and this curriculum will change with it. Meanwhile, the materials presented here will focus on those unique activities specific to Amateur Radio.

This is not a course which you can complete in a weekend - it is not intended to be. Students who successfully complete the course activities and receive their certificates will indeed be ready for roles in situations where lives and property are at stake. Next time it just might be my town and family needing help but I will have confidence in those ARES volunteers who have completed this curriculum.

Finally, we understand that most who take this course are Amateur Radio operators that volunteer their time, skill, and equipment to provide an emergency communication resource to their community. For that we say “THANK YOU.”

Mike Corey W5MPC

ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager

How to Complete the Course

There are four main requirements to completing the course:

1.You will need to complete two DHS/FEMA trainings:

• ICS-100 (IS-100.b) (Introduction to the Incident Command System)

• IS -700 (National Incident Management System)

These are free mini-courses you can take online at: http://training.fema.gov/IS/NIMS.asp

Also recommended, but not required, are:

IS-250, Emergency Support Function 15 (ESF15), External Affairs

IS-288, The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management

2. Read each topic in this course, do the activities and discuss them with your mentor, and test yourself with the questions at the end of each unit.

3. Contact your mentor as you begin the course and share with him or her the work you have done for the course activities as you proceed through the course. Feel free to ask questions and engage in dialog with your mentor using the Moodle online learning platform communication and discussion tools

4. When you are ready, take the final exam at the end of this course. A passing score is 80% or better. You have two attempts to pass.

Your mentor will decide if you have met the requirements to successfully complete this course. This will depend on assessment of your work on course activities and successful completion of the final exam.

For error corrections and supplementary material, please check the online course catalog description for this course at http://www.ARRL.org/online- course-catalog

Copyright 2011 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All material included herein, whether visual, textual or aural, is the property of The American Radio Relay League and its licensors. No part may be reproduced, recorded or otherwise copied by any visual, aural or other means. Printing of course text for personal use only is permitted. Specific permission is required to use this material in any training or product.

Topic 1: Introduction to Emergency Communication

This topic will introduce you to the general concepts of emergency communication. It will help prepare you to be the most helpful as a volunteer.

Student Preparation required:

You should have a sincere interest in improving your skills as an emergency communication volunteer.

Topic 1: Introduction to Emergency Communication

Emergency Communication (Emcomm)

As you begin this series of courses, let us first thank you for choosing to expand your knowledge of Amateur Radio emergency communication, or “emcomm” as it is often called. Our professionalism and the effectiveness of our public service efforts will be greatly improved if we all share a common base of knowledge, skills, and procedures.

In this course, you will learn new skills, and new ways of thinking about existing skills. Sometimes the way we have always done something is no longer useful or appropriate. We hope that this course will challenge you to become the best emergency communicator possible.

You may have ideas and material that could add to the base of knowledge presented here. Do not send these comments to your mentor as you take the course. Simply make a note of them and include them in the course evaluation form you will fill out at the end of the course. Since our methods and techniques must continually change to meet the needs of the communities and agencies we serve, so must this course. We will make changes after making careful periodic reviews of the course, and from all participants and mentor comments.

What is a Communication Emergency?

A communication emergency exists when a critical communication system failure puts the public at risk. A variety of circumstances can overload or damage critical day-to-day communication systems. It could be a storm that knocks down telephone lines or radio towers, a massive increase in the use of a communication system that causes it to become overloaded, or the failure of a key component in a system that has widespread consequences. Examples are easily found. Violent storms and earthquakes can knock down communication facilities. Critical facilities can also be damaged in “normal” circumstances: underground cables are dug up, fires occur in telephone equipment buildings, or a car crash knocks down a key telephone pole. Hospital or 911 telephone systems can fail. Even when no equipment fails, a large- scale emergency such as a chemical or nuclear accident can result in more message traffic than the system was designed to handle. Some emergency operations occur in areas without any existing communication systems, such as with backcountry searches or fires.

Most cellular phone systems are designed to handle only about 6-10% of their subscribers at any one time. This works well in normal situations and is economical for the company. But when a crisis happens, they quickly become overloaded as everyone (the other 90%) tries to talk at once.

What Makes A Good Emcomm Volunteer?

Emcomm volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a range of skills and experience. The common attributes that all effective volunteers share are a desire to help others without personal gain of any kind, the ability to work as a member of a team, and to take direction from others. Emcomm volunteers need to be able to think and act quickly, under the stress and pressure of an emergency.

You cannot help others when you are worried about those you love. Your family should always be your first priority. Adequate personal and family preparation will enable you to get your own situation under control more quickly so that you are in a position to be of service to others.

Where Do You Fit In?

Amateur Radio operators (often called “Hams” or “Ham Radio Operators”) have been a communication resource in emergency situations ever since there has been radio. To the agencies they serve, amateurs are their immediately available communication experts. Amateurs have the equipment, the skills, and the frequencies necessary to create expedient emergency communication networks under poor conditions. They are licensed and pre-authorized for national and international communication.

Hams have the ability to rapidly enlarge their communication capacity to meet growing needs in an emergency, something commercial and public safety systems cannot normally do. Many of the skills are the same ones that are used in everyday ham activities. However, just having radios, frequencies, and basic radio skills is not enough. Certain emergency communication skills are very different from those you use in your daily ham radio life. Courses like this one help fill that need, as do local training programs and regular emergency exercises. Without specific emergency communication skills, you can easily become part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

As you might expect, technical and operating skills are critical. Just as important, though, is your ability to function as a team player within your own organization, and the organization you are serving. Those critical skills will also be covered in this course.

What You Are Not

As important as what you are, is what you are not. There are limits to your responsibilities as an emergency communicator, and it is important to know where to draw the line.

You are not a “first responder.” Except in rare cases of chance, you will seldom be first on the scene. You do not need flashing lights and sirens, gold badges, or fancy uniforms. In most cases, beyond reporting the situation to the proper authorities, hams have little usefulness as communicators at the very beginnings of an emergency.

You have no authority. In most cases, you cannot make decisions for others, or make demands on the agency you serve or any other agency. The only decisions you can make are whether to participate or not, and those affecting your own health and safety.

You cannot do it all. When the agency you are helping runs short of doctors, cooks, or traffic cops, it is not your job to fill the void. In most cases, you are not trained for it. That does not mean you cannot lend a hand to fill an urgent need when you are qualified to do so, or perform other jobs for the served agency of which communication is an integral part, and for which you are trained and capable.

You are not in charge. You are there to temporarily fulfill the needs of an agency whose communication system is unable to do its job. They tell you what they need, and you do your best to comply.

“Day-to-Day” Versus “Emergency” Communication

In your daily ham radio life, there is no pressure to get any particular message through. You do things at your leisure, and no one’s life depends upon you. In an emergency all that changes. Here are some differences you may see:

Unlike general Amateur Radio activities, which involve primarily Amateur Radio operators, emergency communication involves both Amateurs and non-Amateurs. / Unlike regular activities, emergency operations happen in real time. Important activities cannot be delayed for convenience.
Instead of one leisurely net a day, emergency communicators are often dealing with several continuous nets simultaneously to pass critical messages within a limited timeframe. / Unlike public service events that are scheduled and planned, emergency communicators are often asked to organize and coordinate field operations with little or no warning.
Unlike public service events where the communicators serve primarily under the direction of one lead organization, emergency communicators may need to interact with several key organizations simultaneously. / Unlike typical home installations, emergency stations must be portable and able to be set up and operate anywhere in a very short time.
Unlike contesting, which involves contacting any station for points; emergency communicators need to contact specific stations quickly to pass important messages. Teamwork is important, not competition between stations. / Unlike Field Day, where you can plan on a two-day operation, emergency operations have no schedule and are likely to continue for at least several days.
Unlike commercial communication solutions, where there is no reserve capacity for handling a sudden and massive increase in communication volume, Amateur Radio emergency communicators have the equipment, skills, and knowledge to create additional capacity in a very short time.

The Missions