The following series of Power Point
Presentations (8 modules, 386 slides) has been prepared by the Toronto
Emergency Communications (EmComm) Group as an aide to train interested
volunteers in becoming Amateur Radio Operators. This course is offered
free of charge to all Radio Clubs, ARES Groups, and individuals in the
interest of public safety and community service.
Visit: www.emergencyradio.ca/course
What is Amateur Radio Emergency
Service?
In
the United States and Canada, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
is a corps of trained amateur radio operator volunteers organized to assist
in public service and emergency communications. It is organized and sponsored
by the American Radio
Relay League and the Radio
Amateurs of Canada.
Historical operations
Amateur radio operators belonging
to ARES (and its predecessor, the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps [AREC])
have responded to local and regional disasters since the 1930s, including
the attacks of September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina. Amateur radio
provides a means of communication when all others fail; for example, after
Katrina Hancock County, Mississippi had lost all contact with the outside
world, except through ARES operators who served as 911 dispatchers and
message relayers (ARRL
article). ARES has deployed for a variety of other emergencies and
disasters, including the 2003 North America blackout, the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake, and the Kelowna/Okanagan wildfire of 2003 in British Columbia,
Canada.
Organizational structure
ARES groups are volunteer amateur
radio operators who come together for the common purpose of providing emergency
and/or auxiliary communications service to public safety and public service
organizations. Most individual ARES units are autonomous and operate locally.
Although the Amateur Radio Emergency Service is program (and trademark)
of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the structure is more supportive
than directive in nature, providing mostly for mutual aid in the event
of large-scale emergencies. As long as local units are operating in the
best interests of Amateur Radio in general and the ARRL in particular,
intervention from the national organization is minimal.
ARES groups are generally organized
by city or county and are made up of volunteers from the local area. The
only requirements to join ARES are a willingness to serve and a valid amateur
radio license.
Groups are organized locally by the
person holding the position of Emergency Coordinator (EC). The EC maintains
full responsibility for organizing the local groups and serving as their
leader during operations. The EC is an ARRL or RAC member, and is generally
the point of contact for those wishing to perform Emergency Communications
in their local area. He/She may appoint one or several AECs (Assistant
Emergency Coordinator) to oversee certain geographical areas, or he/she
may appoint by function such as the SKYWARN severe weather spotting network,
Net Managing, Training Direction, or Public Information, or maybe a mix
of the above (i.e. whatever works locally). Some members may be appointed
as Official Emergency Stations and are trained to serve specific duties
such as being a net controller during emergencies.
The next higher level of coordination
is the optional District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). This person coordinates
the operation of several local county or city ARES groups and reports to
the Section Emergency Coordinator in those sections where the span of control
would be too large.
Leading the structure is the Section
Emergency Coordinator, or SEC. This person is appointed by the elected
Section Manager and is responsible for emergency communications in his/her
section. In the U.S., a Section is one of 71 geographic administrative
areas of the ARRL. It is either a state (or province in Canada), or in
more densely populated areas of the U.S., a portion of a state.
ARES in the U.S. has Memorandums
of Understanding with organizations including the American Red Cross, National
Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, Citizen Corps, Association
of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, National Communications
System, National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers
Inc., Salvation Army, Society of Broadcast Engineers, Quarter Century Wireless
Association Inc., and REACT International Inc.
Mutual assistance
Often these memorandums illustrate
a common and united sense of purpose between ARES and another organization.
However, Memorandums of Understanding with the American Red Cross, the
National Weather Service, the Salvation Army and others lay out the general
guidelines for organization and coordination between agencies in times
of emergency.
ARES of the Radio Amateurs of Canada
have MOUs with the Canadian Red Cross Society and PERCS, the British Columbia
Provincial Emergency Radio Communication Service.
Frequently, members of local ARES
groups in the U.S. are registered with local government Emergency Management
agencies to permit operations under the RACES rules, if ever needed. This
allows continuation of operation during times of declared emergency when
normal amateur operations might be prohibited. Today, ARES has operators
and officials at local, county, and state levels, and most potential RACES
operations are generally integrated within ARES organizations.
Alternative groups
A few Amateur Radio emergency communications
groups have decided, for one reason or another, not to affiliate with the
ARRL or RAC. However, their essential purpose remains the same, and in
times of need, they often work side-by-side with ARES groups. Radio clubs
independent of the ARRL, RAC and ARES also participate in emergency communications
activities in some areas.
Many ARES operators are also part
of storm spotter networks, e.g., SKYWARN (a program organized by the U.S.
National Weather Service) and CANWARN (coordinated by Environment Canada).
In many cases, the ARES Emergency
Coordinator for a county coordinates all local Emergency Communication
(EmComm) organization and training.
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