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ALERT: Tue, November 3, 2009; 1:17 AM ET HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD HAM WATCH? |
News last updated: Wed, November 4, 2009 at 7:56 AM ET
Neighborhood HamWatch
Goal To provide a method for every capable amateur radio operator who isn’t involved in a deployed active ARES operation to serve his/her community in an Emergency Communication role. This would include senior citizens, care givers, health challenged, wives with kids, off duty police and fire, and others who cannot commit to a deployment but want to serve their community. These amateurs are good communicators, and have ample stations with emergency power they can use during periods of extended communication outages which often follow major natural disasters. These amateurs would augment the active ARES® volunteers and be part of the Em Comm System.
Objectives 1) Communicate neighborhood conditions to local Emergency Operations Centers. Emergency Managers will be provided access to first-hand information about conditions in the communities which they serve. They would handle heath and welfare, report crime and fulfill other communications needs.
2) Relay information from local Emergency Managers to local neighborhoods so local citizens are better informed of relief efforts and information helpful to their survival and overall recovery process.
Requirements Participation in this program requires the desire and capability to utilize your amateur radio license to help your fellow neighbors. You would augment informational communications when normal commercial communication systems fail to operate. There is no special training or equipment burden necessary. A valid license and 2-meter/UHF radio and/or HF rig will do the job.
Concept of Operations Amateur radio operators would communicate with ARES stations that are in direct contact with local government EOC’s. Because of commercial outages, this may be the only link to the outside world. Examples are the telephones, commercial television and radio and cell phones. They would describe neighborhood conditions, medical needs, dangerous situations to Emergency Managers or their staff. Emergency Managers through amateur radio would relay messages to these neighborhoods containing information citizens need for their safety and survival in the recovery effort.
Key Players Amateur radio operators located at his/her home station. They would be an active station in a Neighborhood Hamwatch program. Support from local amateur radio clubs, ARES Groups, other Em Comm groups or private owner of a 2M/ UHF repeater. They would support this program by providing the repeater(s) for use by Neighborhood HamWatch operators. Simplex operation should be practiced and utilized when/where necessary. These communications would be second to emergency operations and should be given ample time to handle the local neighborhood traffic. The ARRL DEC’s and EC’s would coordinate this plan and would help implement its operation with their emergency plans.
Here is how to get started. An informational brochure is available on the NFL website which will help explain the program and can be printed by local hams and distributed to their neighbors. This will acquaint neighbors with their next-door amateur radio operators and establish the Neighborhood HamWatch groups.
ARES® EC’s, NCS’ s can help by including a check-in option for Neighborhood HamWatch operators during or immediately following training nets so participating Hams can begin establishing contact familiarity.
For more information contact: Andy Gausz, Neighborhood HamWatch coordinator for the NFL Section KG4QCD@arrl.net 321-229-7547 2519 Sweetwater Trail Winter park, FL, 32789
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In the upcoming Florida EOC interoperability training at Camp Blanding the third week of January 2010, John Fleming and the FEOC has extended the invitation to the Amateur Radio Community of Florida.
I have been asked to help get this word out and assist in the planning.
For those amateur radio groups who have a mobile platform dedicated to emergency response use are to go to the website and register.
Mobile platform is terminology for a vehicle having a variety of VHF,UHF,HF, Data and other requirements to be used at an communications emergency. This must be a dedicated unit, not for general use except for an emergency. It can be a trailer, truck, combination truck/trailer or other communications unit not for general usage other than an emergency.
The registration form will ask for the information and the FEOC will determine qualifications of the unit for this exercise.
After all units have been registered, a committee will determine those units that qualify and receive an invite. Your registration number does not guarantee an invite. That will come later.
An explanation of cost, expenses, dates and times are on the website.
This information is being passed on to the SFL Section and the WFL Section to be posted on their websites.
This is a great cooperative effort by the FEOC to work with the amateur radio community. I hope that our amateurs take advantage of this great opportunity.
For any assistance, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
73, Paul, KJ4G@arrl.org NFL Section Manager
To: Non-Government Agency Communications Coordinators,
Since 2001, the State of Florida, Regional Domestic Security Task Forces and local agencies have been diligently working on the development, implementation and rollout of a variety of systems in order to afford effective interoperable communications between disparate agencies for use both day to day and during emergencies.
Millions of dollars in Department of Homeland Security, state and local funds have been budgeted on these systems with great success. The Florida Interoperability Network (FIN), Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS), Emergency Deployable Interoperable Communications (EDICS), Emergency Deployable, Wide Area Remote Data Systems (EDWARDS) and trailers, Mutual Aid Radio Communications (MARC), TRP-1000 systems and trailers, mutual aid radios for 108 mobile command vehicles, county based portable switching systems, state and county based portable repeaters and radio caches. These investments have afforded Florida a wide array of communications tools that can be applied during emergencies. Agencies have also been working with our federal partners towards interoperability.
2010 is the time to evaluate our efforts, refine Tactical Interoperable Communications (TIC) Plans, address frequency coordination issues and exercise the true interoperability of these systems. The week of January 25 – 29, 2010 has been scheduled to host the largest assembly of communications systems in the Southeast, and possibly in the United States. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida National Guard will be hosting “Interoperable Communications Summit 2010, Operation Radar, at Camp Blanding, Florida.
By way of this letter, your agency is formally invited to apply and participate in this week long event of interoperable communications meetings, static displays, and field communications exercises. We are affording the opportunity to bring together local, county, state, federal and non-governmental agencies, as well as agencies from other Southeastern states.
The purpose of this event is to bring those involved in the emergency communications sector to address tactical interoperability, finalize regional, state and federal communications plans, as well as field testing regional and local communications systems for interoperability. Independent evaluators will be on site to provide observations and recommendations for improving how Florida manages interoperable communications
The State will cover the following expenses for your agency; travel mileage at $0.445 per mile round trip, billeting and dining at Camp Blanding, refueling on-site for communications vehicle and generator. Teams and participants should be limited to essential personnel responsible for the management and operation of systems brought to the summit. Observers would only be considered on a case by case basis.
We have established a web site for your agency to register www.PSICFL.com , with the site being operational by the end of July. When you register on-line, please indicate the following information.
. Name of Agency . Primary POC . POC Contact information . Type of communications vehicle or trailer o Length o Width o Height o Footprint required on-site for vehicle . Parked . Deployed with remote antennas o Fuel type for vehicle . Tank size o Fuel type for generator . Tank size . Number of staff participating . Names of participants o Male or Female for shared billeting purposes o Communications qualifications for each individual . Communications inventory on your vehicle or trailer o HF o VHF o UHF o Conventional Systems o Trunked Systems . Frequency bands you can operate in o Specific Frequencies in each radio o Encrypted or conventional? o Field Programmable? o Power output of each radio in watts . Antennas o Vehicle / trailer mounted o Field based to be erected on-site . Height and footprint required for antenna farm . Other communications systems on board such as: o Interoperable switches or software o Satellite o VoIP (include telephone numbers) o Data Systems o Video Conferencing (include IP address of your system) o Land based telephone o Cellular (list phone numbers and carrier) o Streaming Video up or downlinks . Television Broadcasting . Aircraft video downlinks o Unique systems . Unique logistics requirements required for deployment and operation
We look forward to seeing you there, for more information contact:
Government Agencies:
Terry Brinson, Interoperable Communications Manager
(850) 413-9890
terry.brinson@em.myflorida.com
Non-Government Agencies:
John Fleming, Communications Planning Manager
(850) 413-9888
john.fleming@em.myflorida.com
Administrative and Event Logistics Support Questions:
Chuck Hagan, State Logistics Chief
(850) 528-7506
charles.hagan@em.myflorida.com
Logistics Support Questions at Camp Blanding:
Connie Nunn, Deputy State Logistics Chief
(850) 528-7517
connie.nunn@em.myflorida.com
Web Site Support Questions:
Jeff Alexander, Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council
(904) 279-0880
jalex@nefrpc.org
David Halstead, Interim Deputy Director
Florida Division of Emergency Management
OPEEERATTIIION RADAR
STATEWIDE INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS SUMMIT AND FIELD EXERCISE
WHEN: Monday, 25 January – Friday, 29 January 2010
Monday, 25 January = Travel day to Camp Blanding. Arrival, check-in, staging and billeting assignments.
Tuesday, 26 January = Set-up, static display and regional communications meetings
Wednesday, 27 January = Intra-Regional Communications Interoperability Planning to refine TIC Plans and Field Exercise
Thursday, 28 January = Inter Regional, State and Federal Communications Interoperability planning and Field Exercise
Friday, 29 January = Travel day from Camp Blanding
WHO: . Municipal and County Government Communications Managers and Teams . State Agency Communications Managers and Teams . Florida National Guard Communications Teams . Federal Agency Communications Managers and Teams . Department of Defense Communications Teams . Amateur Radio, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol and other non-government Communications Managers and Team
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In an effort to clarify many misconceptions concerning local NFL County & NFL Section Em Comm deployment, we have listed below some key points that all Field personnel should know. Also, the NFL Database will be covered.
FEOC = Florida Emergency Operation Center. Level III, Routine business. No FEOC action being taken. Level II, High Alert, could be some deployments. Level I, Major activation emanate or taken. Deployments are involved. EOC = Refers to local county EOC Tracker system= Old nomenclature referring to records keeping and tracking deployed personnel. Constellation= New nomenclature for the above statement. EMA = County Emergency Management Administrator ESF = Emergency Service Function ARES = Amateur Radio Emergency Service. This is the only amateur radio service the FEOC recognizes. (Under ESF-2) FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency. NIMS = National Incident Management System. (ICS) DHS = Division or Department of Homeland Security Venue = A legal description of a defined area of authority such as a city, county or state. Also ARRL Section, District and county. SEC = ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator, second in command under the ARRL NFL Section Manager. ARRL protocol states the SEC is the senior official in charge of deployed amateur radio operators of an emergency or group of emergencies in the section. NFLDB = NFL Database, the official resource of registered amateurs who have applied to assist in Em Comms on a FEOC level II or I activation. All amateurs whether or not they want to deploy are welcome to be registered just in case the callout becomes a major magnitude event and they find they want to assist. More information is available on www.arrl-nfl/nfldata/register.php . FS252 = the authority mandates that each county cover workman’s compensation for volunteers and other cost for inside venue deployments.
(1) In Level III, when you and/or your amateur radio team (ARES or not) are called up for Em Comm deployment within the county, you are under the cloak of FS 252 and its business as usual.
(1a) If severe weather or other issue should arise suddenly and causing an emergency in your county, its business as usual. (Level III).
(1b) If for some reason, this event scales up to Level II or I, its understood that those already involved as volunteers are “grandfathered” into the Constellation or tracker plan. Until then, FS 252 of the county is responsible for volunteer care.
(1c) When the Constellation system is activated by a signed Declaration of Emergency Document by the Florida Governor or the US President; your EMA will now have to request operators through the state Constellation system. That system for years has been referred to and known as the "Tracker System". If your EMA only activated a few members of the local team but not all of his/her resources prior this Declaration, the EMA must now go through the FEOC ESF-2 for any additional amateur radio operators. Any new volunteers called into play will come from the request of the FEOC sent to the NFL SEC using the NFLDB as a resource. Prudent EMAs usually formally activate their County Em Comm teams at least in "standby to readiness" mode well before a formal Declaration is made.
Should an Emergency Event occur where a Declaration of Disaster Document is already signed and the State of Florida or FEMA is now in charge of services to this state and to your county, all deployments for any resources, any ESF division, be it Law Enforcement, Fire Rescue, Medical assistance (DMAT), Em Comm (ESF-2) or any other ESF, must be done through the FEOC's Constellation System. The State, FEMA or both take charge from this point forward.
All deployments, of any kind, during this time after formal Declaration of an Emergency state are made through the State & Federal system. Counties are relieved of the burden of costs and become eligible for the pooled disaster relief fund through FEMA. When FEMA pays, they get to make the rules and control the costs.
(2) The Constellation System. (Old tracker system)
When this level of emergency occurs, the FEOC could receive the request from a county EMA. They evaluate the request and if valid, they request the NFL ARES SEC or SM to fill these requests. The FEOC understands the NFLDB (see #4 below) was created to prequalify amateurs for having the required training courses, skill sets, equipment, availability, capability to deploy, and a driver’s license (to be verified by ESF-16 before deployment)
The SEC will search the NFLDB for registered operators within the NFL Database to fill the FEOC request from your county first, then your district, NFL Section, other Florida sections and then neighboring states thru the ARRL. If you are not already a member in the NFL ARES Database and you were not activated before the Declaration of Emergency was signed, chances are you may not be able to serve your county. Others may have to do the job for you. That is why all our Em Comm operators need to be in the NFL Database. It serves you, and your county.
(3) Who owns the NFL Database?
The NFL Section of the ARRL and ARRL proper are sole owners. There is no entity; state, city, county, American Red Cross, any of the faith based charities, private or public businesses, to include the ARRL Headquarters that have direct access to the NFLDB. It is up to the NFLDB operators (SM/SEC) what information would be passed out to any of these entities. The FEOC understands that when requested, the NFLDB will only dispatch amateurs who have met the minimum standards agreed upon before hand, and have been prevalidated for expedient dispatch in a timely manor.
This database does not fall under public records law (Chapter 119). Records are not for public view. There is no public entity having access to these records.
(4) Who set the standards and requirements for resources in the database?
The State of Florida EOC, FEMA, DHS and the ARRL in cooperation with the NFL Section Staff. These government agencies have set the requirements of all volunteers. The NFLDB was designed with current and future known requirements to be included for applicants to respond to.
As part of the deployment process, the FEOC will be given the DL information which ESF-16 (Law Enforcement) will process and the results given back to the NFLDB team is either yes or no (not reason) to this member being allowed to deploy.
Any optional medical information about a member who is deployed will be only available to a senior NFL Staff member who is on scene of the emergency and will provide the information only if the member is incapable to speak for themselves to EMS personnel.
(5) Who has access to the Database? Full access is granted only to the SM/SEC for supervisory issues and the NFLDB manager for maintenance, structure and data issues (non supervisory position).
DECs have limited access to entries for Districts but only portions as relates to pertinent data for education, addresses and other contact information and for level III deployment. They do not have access to THE OPTIONAL MEDICAL information or Drivers License data which is hidden.
ECs access is the same as for DEC except the EC can only access basic information on registrants from his/her county (or venue) and again no access to sensitive data pages on any registrants.
The Registrant has access during non-emergency times to his/her complete file to make changes and upgrades to his/her information. In other words you can view your complete file and your file only. (At this time, applicant making changes is restricted, but the database manager will, with your written permission make changes for you). Contact WQ4M@arrl.net.
(6) The NFL Database will be closed to NEW registrations, changes and updates once the State of Florida declares an emergency (level II or level I) eminent to this state. It also closes if a weather condition is declared by the NWS to be a tropical storm, tropical depression that is very likely affect Florida or if these weather conditions become a named hurricane within 5 days of our shores.
On behalf of the Northern Florida Section staff, I hope this information will clear up many misunderstandings concerning these issues. If you have a question, please contact me via email and I will work to answer your question(s). By doing this will help prevent rumors or misconceptions from growing out of control and causing a lot of confusion and possibly bad feelings.
If you have a question about the database, contact Donna, WQ4M@arrl.net for any clarifications you need or answer any questions you have.
As a note of interest, even if you don’t want to or can’t deploy, by joining the NFLDB, in an emergency, we can send a ham to locate to and find out if you need help.
To be a member, one does not have to be an ARRL or ARES to join.
73, Paul L. Eakin, KJ4G@arrl.org Northern Florida Section Manager 850-591-0442 NFLDataBase, www.arrl-nfl.org/nfldata/register.php
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ARRL president Joel Harrison recently sent a letter to the National Safety Council expressing concern that Amateur Radio operators may be impacted by the flurry of legislation aimed at distracted driving, primarily for cell phone use. Attached is a response he received from NSC President Janet Froetscher for your information.
We are pleased to see NSC shares our concern on distracted driving, especially in regards to the use of amateur radio equipment.
73,
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK
August 24, 2009
Joel M. Harrison President American Radio Relay League 225 Main Street Newington CT 06111-1494
Dear Mr. Harrison:
Thank you for your letter expressing your views about the National Safety Council's call for bans on the use of cell phones while driving. We appreciate you sharing our concerns around distraction while driving. We also appreciate the important role your organization and Amateur Radio operators play in an emergency.
The NSC position is grounded in science. There is significant evidence that talking on cell phones while driving poses crash risk four times that of other drivers. We are especially concerned with cell phone use because more than 100 million people engage in this behavior, with many doing so for long periods of time each day. This exposes these 100 million people and everyone who shares the road with them to this increased crash risk every day. This combination of risk and exposure underlies our specific focus on cell phones.
We are not aware of evidence that using amateur radios while driving has significant crash risks. We also have no evidence that using two-way radios while driving poses significant crash risks. Until such time as compelling peer-reviewed scientific research is presented that denotes significant risks associated with the use of amateur radios, two-way radios, or other communications devices, the NSC does not support legislative bans or prohibition on their use.
That is not to say that there is no risk associated with drivers using amateur or two-way radios. Best safety practice is to have one's full attention on their driving, their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. Drivers who engage in any activity that impairs any of these constitutes an increased risk. While the specific risk of radio use while driving is unmeasured and likely does not approach that of cell phones, there indeed is some elevated risk to the drivers, their passengers and the public associated with 650,000 amateur radio operators who may not, at one time or another, concentrate fully on their driving.
I appreciate your focus on the use of amateur radios for emergency communications during disasters. I encourage ARRL to adopt best practices for the safe operation of vehicles that confines use of amateur radios while driving only to disaster emergencies. You may want to consider documenting this through a formal policy for all of your members.
If you or your staff would like to discuss state legislative opportunities and language, adoption of best practices, or any other matter related to this issue, we would be pleased to do so. Please contact John Ulczycki, Group Vice President, Research, Communications and Advocacy.
Thank you for your interest in this issue.
Best Regards,
Janet Froetscher ************************************************************************************************************************
On Saturday June 20th, 2009, the Official NFL Section ARES (registered) Database went in effect. This will be the resource the SEC/SM will use to keep the records on volunteer amateurs who choose to join it.
All amateur radio operator deployments from the NFL Section requested by valid served agencies through the Florida EOC-ESF-2 will be made from this database. It is entirely voluntary to join. The amateur radio operator doesn't have to belong to the ARRL or an ARES (registered) group and can be deployed as an individual only if he/she has a record in the NFL Section ARES (registered) Database of all the recommended NIMS and ARRL Em Comm courses and meets other requreirements. Any FCC licensed amateur radio operator living in the NFL Section can join. There is a provision for seasonal visitors.
This database is also established so that all amateurs wanting to be a volunteer in emergency communications, no matter which volunteer EM COMM group they belong to, or none, they can be deployed to assist the citizens, the agencies we serve, and our fellow amateurs.
Every known protection has been implemented to protect your information. HIPPA rules are being followed to the "T". Please read the opening statement, and then proceed. At any time you choose to stop, do so. You can change your mind at any time. After completion, if successful, you will receive a confirmation e-mail in about 24 to 48 hours saying you are a member.
Almost 99.9% of all your questions will be answered in the database.
Thank you and look forward to working with you when the callup goes out.
To register yourself in the database, go to www.arrl-nfl.org, and there you will find a link to the home page of the database.
73, Paul L. Eakin, KJ4G ARRL NFL Section Manager
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