Category Archives: FEMA

ARRL, FEMA, National, National Government, News

FEMA Announces Plans for September National Preparedness Month

Next month is National Preparedness Month with the theme Prepared, Not Scared. Be Ready for Disasters.National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster and emergency planning now and throughout the year. This year’s campaign will feature PSAs and multimedia products around four weekly themes:

· Week 1: Sept 1-7 Save Early for Disaster Costs

· Week 2: Sept 8-14 Make a Plan to Prepare for Disasters

· Week 3: Sept 15-21 Teach Youth to Prepare for Disasters

· Week 4: Sept 22-30 Get Involved in Your Community’s Preparedness

Content has been loaded on the Ready.gov National Preparedness Month Toolkit webpage. This year, FEMA wants participants, which include ARES operators, to share their activities and success stories. The longtime ARRL partner wants brief descriptions of what you are planning for National Preparedness Month. Send them to FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov with the word NPM in the subject line. An appropriate, brief submission would be your planned or conducted ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) activity. Many groups will be holding their SET during September and through the fall. The primary League-sponsored national emergency exercise is designed to assess the skills and preparedness of ARES and other organizations involved with emergency/disaster response. Here’s an opportunity to let FEMA know about it.

In June 2003, ARRL became an official affiliate program of Citizen Corps, an initiative within the Department of Homeland Security to enhance public preparedness and safety. The Statement of Affiliation makes ARRL an affiliate under the four charter Citizen Corps programs–Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Community Emergency Response Teams and Medical Reserve Corps.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, ARES, Coconino Amateur Radio Club, Emergency Communications, Event, FEMA, Flagstaff, Morse Code, National Government

Flagstaff EOC opens doors to the public

The nerve center of the Emergency Operation Center.

FLAGSTAFF – On March 23, the Emergency Operation Center in Flagstaff held an open house to allow the public to peer inside for the first time.


The Emergency Operation Center is based on a modular, FEMA model. That means that only those areas necessary for the current emergency are staffed. That could mean representatives from federal agencies, State agencies or local agencies. Local agencies can be anything from the American Red Cross, Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Community Emergency Response Team, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, representatives from fire and police departments from anywhere in Coconino County to name a few.

The Coconino Emergency Operation Center is operated by Coconino Emergency Management. It received national recognition during the Tinder Fire in the Blue Ridge area. Amateur radio operators from the Coconino Amateur Radio Emergency Service was the only communications to get through to the EOC at the beginning to issue evacuation orders.

Visitors got a chance to see the various community emergency services in Coconino County. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) sponsored by the Sheriff’s Department was one. The group is made up of volunteers that respond to various emergencies as directed by the CCSO. This can be anything from assisting in searching for a lost person to providing traffic control. CERT training, provided by the CCSO, is required to be a member.

Amateur radio operators set up antennas to demonstrate emergency communications.

The Coconino Amateur Radio Club Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group mans their space at the EOC for almost every emergency. Amateur radio—aka “Ham”—operators are people of all walks of life licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to operate amateur radio equipment on several frequencies. This is not the same as a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) license. Although amateurs are not required to, many donate countless hours in training and providing emergency communications. Amateur radio can get through when many other means of communications fail. They use a variety of digital and voice modes and sometimes even old-fashioned Morse code. Some FEMA courses are required to work with the amateur radio operators in the EOC, however any amateur radio operator can participate by providing reports in their area. ARES is a program sponsored by the American Radio Relay League. There is no requirement to join any group or provide emergency communications attached to an FCC amateur radio license.

The American Red Cross also provided an information table for their continuing role in many emergency situations in and outside of the EOC. The State Emergency Management Agency also presented their role.

Ground control to Major Tom. This unit provides cell and wi-fi service in remote locations.
Flagstaff Police Department bomb squad robot.

Outside there were several agencies present . The Flagstaff Police Department bomb squad had their bomb robot present. The State Emergency Management Team had their “Ground Control” unit that provides cell and Wi-Fi services in remote areas. There were also representatives from the fire department and ambulance services.

Emergency Communications, FEMA, National Government, News

FEMA’s Email Subscriptions: Treasure Trove of Resources and Info

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and formal partner agency of the ARRL, offers a wealth of information, updates and alerts on a wide range of emergency and disaster response topics by email subscription. These topical advisories and alerts are relevant to ARES participants, and readily subscribed to by clicking here. Simply subscribe by checking the boxes; unsubscribe by un-checking the boxes. Access your subscriber preferences to update your subscriptions or modify your password or email address without adding subscriptions.

Subscribers can opt to receive FEMA declarations, such as Emergency Declarations, Fire Management Assistance Declarations, Major Disaster Declarations, Disaster Updates by FEMA regions of the country, and Updates During Disasters.

Featured FEMA Updates include registration information and updates for America’s PrepareAthon, which motivates people and communities to take action to prepare for and protect themselves against disasters. ARRL has supported the preparedness program, and since 2003, has been an affiliate of Citizen Corps, under the four charter Citizen Corps programs–Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Community Emergency Response Teams and Medical Reserve Corps. Get updates on 2018 America’s PrepareAthon plans.

Subscribers can also receive Citizen Corps News and Updates during disasters, and updates on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.

For information on the Department of Homeland Security’s Center For Faith-Based & Community Initiatives, and Neighborhood Partnership, check the relevant box.

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s mission is to train, exercise and educate to improve the competencies of Emergency Management at all levels. The EMI is home for FEMA’s well known Independent Study (IS) program, where ARES participants and others can take the NIMS and ICS (and numerous other topics) online courses. Email subscribers can receive a wide array of EMI news and updates, including on the Independent Study courses.

Other news and updates are available on topics such as HAZMAT, IT, Mitigation (Grants Policy), Communications and Outreach, Risk Analysis Branch, and, of course, the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Emails are available for the FEMA National Level Exercise, National Response Framework, FEMA Daily Operations Briefing, and much more.

I’ve been an email subscriber for many of these update and bullletins for several years now — I highly recommend them. — K1CE