VII. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

D. Traffic. The location and facility to which a LCARES operator is assigned will determine the type of traffic and equipment that will need to be utilized.

1. Linn County Emergency Operations Center. (EOC). Operators will be needed at the Linn County EOC which is located at 1115 Jackson Street SE in Albany. The primary amateur radio equipment needed is 2-meter VHF . This is due to building construction and the availability of VHF antenna drops for amateur radio. Voice and packet would be useful. The heavy volume of traffic will require good operating skills. Runners will normally be provided to pass messages between the LCARES operators, the EOC and the 9-1-1 Center located on site. Communications with the EOC will be with Oregon Emergency Management to forward damage assessments, emergency declarations, requests for resources and situation reports. Communications to and from fixed facilities the will consist of tactical exchanges with disaster teams; administrative written traffic regarding the movement of people, supplies and equipment; damage assessment messages.

2. Fixed Facilities (Shelters, Medical Centers, Fire Stations, City EOCs) Communications to and from fixed facilities will consist of tactical exchanges with disaster teams; administrative written traffic regarding the movement of people, supplies and equipment; welfare messages.

3. Field Team Communications. Communications from the field teams will require highly mobile or portable capability. Communications will be both tactical and formal, depending on the situation. Initial reports from disaster action teams or rapid assessment teams may be tactical, especially if there is an immediate life threat. A formal written format is preferred for damage assessment reports.

4. Long Distance Communications. HF communications are the preferred way to communicate when terrain prevents VHF signals from getting through, or when VHF repeaters are inoperative. An LCARES operator with an HF Ham rig could prove very effective in communicating Albany and the High Cascades. Placing HF equipment at the County EOC desirable, but not absolutely necessary, as long as the operator at the receiving end can directly relay the message to the EOC via VHF or telephone.

5. Message Precedence. Message precedence is established by the person writing the message, not necessarily the person sending the message. The following precedence is established for sending ARES messages:

a. EMERGENCY: Code "Emergency" - Life and death situations.

b. Priority: Code "P" - Urgent, handle only Emergency messages faster.

c. Welfare: Code "W" - Inquiry as to the health or welfare of an individual.

d. Routine: Code "R" - Messages of non-urgent nature. Handle these messages ASAP. Most messages fit this category.

6. Helpful Hints.

a. LISTEN. LISTEN CAREFULLY. The more you listen, the more information you will have about the situation and the better you will be able to do your job.

b. Have your thoughts and/or message complete and ready before attempting to contact Net Control.

c. Determine the priority of your traffic before contacting Net Control. Listen enough to know if your message has a higher or lower priority than traffic currently being handled. Don't change the priority that was assigned to the message by the person who originated that message.

d. Is your traffic of a high enough priority to break into a message that is currently being sent. If possible, wait until that message is completed.

e. Work hard at being accurate, brief and clear when you send and receive your messages.

f. Advise net control when it is necessary for you to leave the frequency.

g. Always be courteous. A cool head in a disaster situation can keep the messages flowing.