· Monitor 147.075 MHz. If the 147.075 repeater is not functional, amateurs should monitor

146.925 MHz.

· Limit non-essential radio traffic to make it easier for other stations to monitor the frequency.

4.1 Request and Authorization to Activate

Formal activation of an emergency net begins upon the request of Howard County Emergency

Management or other served agencies. A decision to activate may also be made by the EC or an

AEC when it is apparent that an emergency exists or is imminent requiring the utilization of

amateur radio. If the EC or an AEC cannot be reached, any amateur radio operator with these

procedures is encouraged to begin operations if the need for assistance is obvious.

The following steps should be taken to activate an amateur radio response to a disaster or

emergency:

· Attempt to notify the EC and all AEC’s via radio or telephone. The contact information for

the EC’s and AEC’s are included in the reference section of this document.

· Activate the ARES telephone call chain, which is included in the reference section of this

document.

· Establish a formal net on 147.075 MHz and notify all amateur radio operators monitoring.

Listening amateur radio operators should check in with the net control station. If 147.075 is

not functioning, a net should be established on 146.925 MHz.

5.1 Command and Control

As a guideline, the command hierarchy during an emergency ARES activation is as follows (in

descending order):

1. Howard County Emergency Management Agency

2. Public Safety Agency being served

3. Relief Agency being served

4. EC, AEC or his designee

5. Net Control station

Decisions should be made at the lowest level. Routine direction should be given by Net Control.

The EC or AEC should provide direction via net control whenever practical. Specific direction

may be given by the event coordinator at the request of the requesting agency or organization.

The net control operator has the responsibility of maintaining contact with all participants, and

assuring that the requested operations are being carried out. To facilitate this, he should:

· Limit traffic to highest priority if traffic levels are high

· Keep a log of all participants on frequency

· Periodically confirm contact with each participant

· Check progress on individual assignments

· Temporarily redirect specific traffic to alternate frequencies if necessary

5.3 Howard County Emergency Management Liaison

When ARES is activated by Howard County Emergency Management, an amateur radio operator

shall be assigned to operate the amateur radio station at the Howard County Emergency Operations

Center (EOC) at the LEC in Cresco; or at a designated incident command post in the

field. The responsibility of this operator will be to pass relevant reports to Emergency

Management. Due to the level of activity in the EOC radio room, the liaison should monitor the

net and present only relevant traffic to Emergency Management. Emergency Management can

then request additional information via the liaison as necessary. This station may also serve as

the net control station if needed, however in certain circumstances it may be beneficial to

designate a separate amateur station to serve as net control to free up duties of the EMA liaison.

In most situations, an amateur radio operator will be assigned to serve as a liaison with a served

agency at the disaster scene or at other locations involved in disaster operations. His/her duties

may include:

· Establishment of an amateur radio station at the assigned staging area

· Shadowing officials or emergency units

· Maintaining contact from the scene to net control and/or the EOC

· Requesting assistance for further amateur radio operators and directing their efforts at

the scene

· Passing on requests for information or action from the requesting agency

· Passing collected information back to the requesting agency

The served agency/disaster scene liaison should initially report to the scene or agency incident

commander for instructions regarding where to establish operations and what support is

specifically requested.

If messages need to be passed into or out of Howard County, amateur radio liaisons with

surrounding counties should be established. Liaisons shall operate on a frequency requested by

the adjacent county, usually the repeater being used for that county’s activity. Selection of

liaisons should be made by net control, and should give preference to stations that are capable of

operating on (or at least monitoring) both the Howard County and adjacent county coordination

frequencies simultaneously. The primary frequency for each adjacent county is:

• Decorah - 146.775
• Oelwein - 147.345
• Spring Valley - 147.015

An amateur radio operator with the capability to request emergency assistance shall be

maintained during all activities. Methods to accomplish this (in order of preference) include:

· An amateur radio operator located at the appropriate EOC, Police, Fire or Ambulance

dispatch center

· An amateur radio operator shadowing a participating Law Enforcement, Fire or

Ambulance member

· An amateur radio operator base station with a telephone

· An amateur radio operator with a cellular telephone

· An amateur radio operator with auto patch capability

· A designated amateur radio operator with access to (drive/walk to) a public telephone

5.7. Staging Area Procedures

Depending on the situation, multiple amateur radio operators may be called to a staging area to

support communications and assist the served agency liaison with establishing an amateur radio

station and supporting served agency communications needs.

A staging area, where amateur radio operators meet before going to the site of an incident, has

many advantages. An organized group may have fewer problems getting through roadblocks,

parking may be an issue at the site, people are less likely to get lost, equipment failure is less

likely to be a problem, etc. Amateur radio operators are discouraged from going directly to a

disaster site unless authorized by net control or by some other prior agreement.

When dispatched to a disaster scene, it is important to follow instructions of the incident

commander at the emergency scene. The IC will designate where the amateur radio station will

be established and instruct participants on what will be required of them at the scene.

Amateur radio operators should first report to the served agency liaison to receive further

instructions upon arrival at a scene.

Alternate repeaters or simplex frequencies may be established for specific functions (evacuation

shelters, health and welfare, specific response agencies) as needed to keep traffic at manageable

levels. These alternate nets may be formal or informal (i.e. with or without a net control station).

However, each net shall always designate one station to act as liaison with the coordination net.

It is important that the location and function of all participating amateurs be known. Therefore,

amateur radio operators should not join these alternate nets unless directed to do so by the net

control station on the primary coordination net.

7.1 Personal Identification

There has been no standard established for identification of amateur personnel at this time.

Necessary identification for entry into a restricted area will be provided by the controlling

agency.

There has been no standard established for vehicle identification. However, appropriate

magnetic signs or cards placed in the windshield are encouraged. While this identification will

not automatically provide access to controlled areas, it will assist other agencies to identify an

amateur radio operator when one is needed.