Resilience

Rhode Island amateur radio operators are encouraged to use their FCC license and skills to boost our collective “communications resilience”. Whatever your license, equipment, or skill level, there are opportunities to serve your community.  Some of these opportunities are structured, while others are more informal.

On the formal side, some local emergency management agencies (EMA) are seeking to build a corps of trained, credentialed, and disciplined amateur radio operators who are ready, able, and willing to serve their community as emergency communications technicians. These volunteers will be amateur radio licensed and will be willing to complete basic online FEMA training in the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System.  Later, they will be trained on the state’s RISCON radio system, American Red Cross shelter communications, and the Medical Emergency Distribution System.

Locally, Portsmouth Emergency Management Agency is currently active and recruiting. You do not have to be a Portsmouth resident to participate.

EMA Websites for Communities in Newport County

On the less formal side, there are an array of opportunities:

  • Get trained and participate in the National Weather Service’s SKYWARN® Storm Spotter program
    • https://www.weather.gov/skywarn/
    • NWS Boston/Norton office – https://www.facebook.com/wx1box
  • Understand and experiment with neighborhood-level communication approaches that may help our neighbors pass messages into first responder dispatch centers when phone service is compromised
    • this use case is a bit messy and may be filled with “comm preppers” and other individuals trying to use Family Radio Service (FRS) walkie-talkies, Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS), General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios, Marine Band, and Citizens Band (CB) radios.
    • the current reality is that few RI towns/cities have formal plans to listen to any of these alternative radio services.
    • this unmet need may create opportunities for amateur radio operators using their “frequency agile” equipment.
    • for more discussion on this challenge, see the work products from Radio Relay International at http://radio-relay.org/emcomm/neighborhood-hamwatch/

Useful Links Related to Emergency Communication

  • Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program, CLICK HERE
  • Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide vERSION 1.1 (AUXFOG), CLICK HERE
  • FEMA National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG), CLICK HERE
  • Get “Emergency Communications Updates” from the DHS Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency,  CLICK HERE
  • Standards for Operation NCRC voice nets, CLICK HERE 

 

Helpful Forms

ICS-205 Communication Plan

ICS-205A Communication List

ICS-211 Personnel Check-In List

ICS-213 General Message Forms

ICS-214 Activity Log

ICS-217A Communications Resource Worksheet

ICS-309 Communication Log (consider just using ICS-214)

ICS-1160 Damage Assessment

Red Cross Forms

ARRL Message Form