Red Cross Disaster Communications and the Amateur Radio / ARES - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Red Cross Disaster Communications and the Amateur Radio / ARES - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Feb 23, 2024 760 likes •1.32k views

American Red Cross Gold Country Region Red Cross Disaster Communications and the Amateur Radio / ARES Community 1 American Red Cross Gold Country Region Jim Piper, RN & N6MED Disaster Health Services Disaster Services Technology:

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Red Cross Disaster Communications and the Amateur Radio / ARES Community

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • Jim Piper, RN & N6MED

Disaster Health Services Disaster Services Technology: Liaison to ARES / Amateur Radio

  • American Red Cross since 2014
  • Amateur Radio interests: EmComm, Public Service

Comms

  • ARES 1994-2012
  • DEC Santa Cruz County late '90s
  • CERT Santa Cruz County 2002-2008
  • NDMS Disaster Medical Assistance Team CA-11,

Sacramento

  • Numerous FEMA and other disaster training

courses

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

26 Counties

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  • Disasters

 “Small” localized incidents:

 family burned out of their home  Residents burned out of an apartment

building

 Wide-area disasters:

 Wild-land fire threatening occupied

structures (e.g., 2015 Calif Fires fires)

 Earthquake (e.g., '89 Loma Prieta and '14

Napa quakes) American Red Cross Gold Country Region

For What Kind of Incident Does the Red Cross Activate?

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5  Wild-land fire  Flooding  Train Derailment (think toxics shipped by

rail)

 Major power outage

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

What Major Disaster Threats in NorCal?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

100 Year Flood

Resources spread to the limit (ya think?!?)

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • Depends on the incident

 Small incident (house or apartment house fire) by

the Incident Commander on the scene. Call made to the Red Cross on-call Disaster Action Team

How and By Whom is the Red Cross Activated?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • Red Cross on-call Disaster Action Team

How is the Red Cross Activated ... (con't)?

**Photo from the public domain

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Large incident (earthquake, wild-land fire, etc), if EOC activated, request from EOC officials to the EOC Red Cross representative for an evacuation center or shelter close to the affected area an approx number of affected individuals

How and By Whom is the Red Cross Activated?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • LARGE shelters:

How is the Red Cross Activated ... (con't)?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Small incident, the Red Cross on-call Disaster Action Team responds to the sene to attend to the disaster victims for immediate needs of shelter, clothing, food, unmet medical needs. How is the Red Cross Activated ... (con't)?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • When a large incident (earthquake, wild-

land fire, etc) the Red Cross representative at the EOC contacts the Disaster Program Manager (DPM) responsible for the affected area.

  • Response might be to take over a shelter

already opened by the county Or

  • Activate a previously unopened shelter

How is the Red Cross Activated ... (con't)?

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And the Red Cross Operation Begins ...

  • DPM via support from headquarters

(Exposition Blvd., Sac) contacts Shelter Manager and other support staff

  • Ideally, DPM or COML (Liaison to ARES)

contacts ARES leadership in the area affected to request radio resources

  • Contacts other partners according to the need

(i.e., number of clients needing to be served)

  • Contacts Nurse On Call according to client

unmet medical needs

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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How Red Cross Operates in a Disaster Response

  • ICS regardless whether for a Local Response

(Gold Country Region local resources) and National Response (resources from across the country)

  • Part of the NIMS National Response Framework

as Emergency Support Function 6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services (Ref: ICS 800 National Response Framework – An

Introduction)

  • Uses ICS disaster management model with

positions renamed as appropriate to Red Cross functions

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Red Cross ICS Structure: Primary Job Titles

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • DRO or Job Director = Incident

Commander

  • Assistant Director (AD) External

Relations

  • AD, Operation = Operations Chief
  • AD, Information and Planning =

Planning Chief

  • AD, Logistics = Logistics Chief
  • AD, Finance = Finance Chief
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Red Cross ICS Structure

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Job Director (Incident Commander) AD Operations (Ops Chief) AD Planning (Plans Chief) AD Logistics (Logs Chief) AD Finance (Finance Chief) DHS Nurse Lead AD External Relations Government Liaison Public Affairs

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Red Cross ICS Structure (con't)

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

AD Operations (Ops Chief) AD Planning (Plans Chief) AD Logistics (Logs Chief) AD Finance (Finance Chief) DSH Nurse Lead Bulk Distribution Client Services Feeding Sheltering Lead Disaster Assessment Information Dissemination Statistical Information Supply / Procurement Staff Services Shelter DHS Nurse Manager Disaster Services Technology

COML

(Communications Lead)

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Red Cross ICS Structure & Radio Comms

  • DST sets up and manages telecom (cell phone)

and datacom network at the DOC, issues cell phones to functions (e.g., Shelter Manager(s), Disaster Health Services, etc.)

  • COML Reports to DST
  • COML

 Fills role of Incident Comm Center

Manager

 Manages the tech and ops aspects of

radio communications

 Supervises Radio Operators  Develops Incident Radio Comm Plan  Particiaptes in ops & planning meetings  Understands the realities of deployment

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

AD Logistics (Logs Chief) Disaster Services Technology COML

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Disaster Response (DR) Communications

  • Initial, heavy reliance on cell phone
  • As support resource needs expand, Disaster

Services Technology brings in equipment to support phone, intranet and internet infrastructure: cell phones, server(s), laptops, printers, and earth station.

  • But for cell phones, DST equipment supports the

local DOC only, not the shelters

  • Verizon Wireless Crisis Response Team (VCRT)

might be called which responds within 24-48 hours

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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ARES Responds to During Red Cross Disaster Response (DR)

Ideal world:

 DPM or COML (Liaison to ARES) contacts

ARES leadership in area affected (as noted previously)

 ARES responds radio operators to areas of

need, e.g., evacuation centers, shelters, Disaster Ops Center (DOC), Local HQ, etc.

 Radio Operators respond self-contained with

appropriate equipment and personal items.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Telecommunications Infrastructure

“Normal” telecom infrastructure:

 POTS  Cell phone  Internet 

Most carried by fiber backhaul

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Telecommunications Infrastructure

Disaster “event” can interrupt all Mountain Ranch (Calaveras County) lost above ground public utilities during Butte Fire

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Telecommunications Infrastructure

Disaster “event” can interrupt all '89 Loma Prieta Quake interrupted all utilities in Santa Cruz County (POTS d/t subscribers overloading system) Fiber cut 2009 Santa Clara County interrupted all telecom & datacom traffic in/out Santa Cruz County

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Disaster Telecommunications Infrastructure

No “graceful degradation” built in as a major

consideration/component (unfortunately the norm):

 Normal everyday:  Dial up POTS  Cell phone  High Speed Internet  Crash, Boom, Ka-Pow:  Loss of Dial Up d/t copper and / or fiber

connections to CO d/t poles down, fire burning

  • ut lines, etc.

 Loss of Cell phone d/t loss of tower (saturated cell

sites, power utility failure, back-up power loss, cell towers physically down, etc.

 Sneaker net is left intact American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Disaster Communications Infrastructure

Ideally, with “graceful degradation” built in as a major consideration/ component:

  • Normal everyday infrastructure:

–

Dial up POTS

–

Cell phone

–

High Speed Internet

  • Loss of Dial Up d/t copper and / or fiber connections to CO

d/t poles down, fire burning out lines, etc.

  • Loss of Cell phone d/t loss of tower (saturated cell sites,

power utility failure, back-up power loss, cell towers physically down, etc.

  • Radio repeaters carrying both voice and data traffic
  • HF radio carrying both voice and data traffic
  • (Verizon Crisis Response Team)
  • Sneaker Net

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Disaster Communications Infrastructure

  • Amateur Radio as an important piece of the “graceful

degradation” component: Ham Radio, by carrying both voice and data traffic, can help keep the wheels of the Red Cross disaster response moving: Consider:

  • Voice for “tactical” traffic between shelters, Disaster

Assessment Teams, and Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) and Disaster Operations

  • Data for all message traffic >25-50 words

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What Type of Traffic During Red Cross Disaster Response (DR)?

  • Tactical: “To Mary Pearce, Solid Rock Shelter

Manager: call John Williams AD for Logistics @ 800-555-1212”

  • Data: logistics requests, daily shelter manager

and Disaster Health Services reports, personnel assignments Note: Anticipate radio traffic will have a precedence

  • f Routine (most typical), Immediate/Urgent

(occasional) or Emergency (rarely). Ask originator for precedence (Do not presume).

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What About Health and Welfare Traffic?

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

  • The Red Cross processes general welfare

messages through the Red Cross Safe & Well web site.

  • Radio operators encouraged to assist in

registering people on the Safe & Well website by passing the required information from a point in the disaster area to someone outside the disaster area who can enter the information on the Safe & Well website. https://safeandwell.communityos.org/

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What Does the Red Cross Need / Expect for Message Handling?

  • “Mr. Radio Op, here is my message to recepient

(addressee)”

  • If on a form (Red Cross uses ICS forms modified for

Red Cross purposes), the addressee should receive the delivered message exactly as it was given to the radio operator.

  • It is up to ARES how to get the message from the

near end to the far end intact and delivered in its

  • riginal form.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What About Confidentiality and Health Information Privacy Accountbility Act (HIPAA)?

  • As a policy, Red Cross keeps confidential the names of its

clients.

  • “ If the President declares an emergency or disaster and the

Secretary declares a public health emergency, the Secretary may waive sanctions and penalties against a covered hospital that does not comply with certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule ...

  • “ … the HIPAA Privacy Rule permits disclosures for treatment

purposes and certain disclosures to disaster relief organizations. For instance, the Privacy Rule allows covered entities to share patient information with the American Red Cross so it can notify family members of the patient’s location. (45 CFR 164.510(b)(4).”

http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/1068/is-hipaa-suspended-during-a-national-or-public- health-emergency/index.html

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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More Disaster Health Services Messages & HIPAA...

  • Red Cross nurses are well acquainted with

HIPAA and are highly protective of client

  • information. If Disaster Health Services has a

message regarding a client, the client would not be identified by name, but rather by initials or first name and last initial. E.G., “Client John S.” or “Client JS.”

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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More Disaster Health Services Messages & HIPAA...

Except as allowed as described previously, radio operators can expect that they will not be asked to pass DHS confidential traffic.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What Forms Does the Red Cross Use?

  • ARC ICS 201 Incident Briefing
  • ARC ICS 202 Incident Objectives
  • ARC ICS 204 Work Assignments*
  • ARC ICS 207 Incident Organization Chart*
  • ARC ICS 208 Safety Message*
  • ARC ICS 213 General Message*
  • ARC ICS 230 Daily Schedule
  • ARC ICS 233 Incident Open Action Tracker

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Red Cross Forms

IMPORTANT:

Noted previously, the Red Cross follows the ICS disaster management model, including ICS forms, though modified specifically to Red Cross purposes.

  • ICS imperative for a consistent form and function for

“One Red Cross”

  • Especially important as responders come from all across

the country

  • ICS prevents a “Tower of Babel”
  • ARC ICS213 approved at the ARC National level (template

available as a file and in printed form with shelter kits)

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Red Cross Forms

  • ARC ICS213 approved at the ARC National level (template

available as a file)

  • Other ICS forms templates “works in progress”
  • Goal: create form templates in an object file size to

facilitate efficient transfer over a data link, regardless AX.25 packet, WinLink/RMS Express, or other transfer mode of radio operator's choosing.

  • Nota bene: (You already know this) message transfer
  • ver a data path ensures maximum speed and efficiency

by way of minimum auto repeats, no transcription errors (when created by the message originator), with delivery precisely in the form sent.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Red Cross ICS 213 Form

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Red Cross Forms

IMPORTANT:

Noted previously, the Red Cross follows the ICS disaster management model, including ICS forms, though modified specifically to Red Cross purposes.

  • ICS imperative for consistent form and function

for “One Red Cross”

  • Especially important as DR responders come

from all across the country

  • ICS prevents a “Tower of Babel”

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Shelter: How to Check-In / To Whom to Report for Duty / Expectations

  • On reporting to a shelter

Sign-in on volunteer check-in sheet

Ask for and report to Shelter Manager

If 1st operator to shelter, ask where to set-up radio station

If shift relief, ask to be directed to radio station.

  • Frequently first 24 hours of shelter operations tend to be

a cluster f**k

  • Might need to suggest a place for setting up the radio

position

  • Be advised: Shelters are noisy!

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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DOC: How to Check-In / To Whom to Report for Duty / Expectations

  • On reporting to Sac Disaster Operatons Center (DOC)

Sign-in on volunteer check-in sheet

Ask for and report to COML or DST Manager

Radio station at back of DOC

  • On reporting to “field” DOC

Sign-in on volunteer check-in sheet

Ask for and report to COML or DST Manager

If 1st operator to DOC, ask where to set-up radio station

If shift relief, ask to be directed to radio station

  • Frequently first 24 hours of operations tend to be a

cluster f**k

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Check-Out Procedure

  • At the Sac Disaster Operatons Center (DOC) or 'field'

DOC

ADO would likely release you

Advise COML or DST Manager of being released and availability for reassignment

  • At a Shelter

Shelter Manager would release you

Advise COML or DST Manager of being released and availability for reassignment

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What can ARES bring to the Party?

How many radio operators per shift*? Well, it depends on the

  • situation. Typical at start and as determined by COML:

 2 max for the Sac Disaster Ops Center (radio

room is very space limited).

 2 for local DOC  1-2 at a shelter  1 in a vehicle (E.G., Damage Assessment

Teams)

 1 Community Outreach Center

Nota bene: Inadvisable to repond with more operators than requested. * Red Cross shelter staff works 12-hr shifts. Size of the DR response, DOC might work same. Else 8-10 hour days.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What can ARES bring to the Disaster Response?

Trained Communicators who:

 Understand the greater Red Cross mission  Understand the mission of the

communicator / radio operator when serving the Red Cross

 Speak Red Cross language  Can work in a managed ICS structure  Can improvise, adapt, and overcome

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What can ARES bring to the Party?

Self-contained

Depending on commitment, personal supplies, sleeping gear, etc. according to the assignment location.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What Can ARES Bring to the Party?

  • Expertise

 Most Red Cross volunteers (other than DST

personnel) have no understanding of radio comms and depend on radio operators to get the job done

  • Need no supervision. Shelter & DOC staff have too

much on their plates to supervise supporting partners.

  • Equipment

 DOC Sacramento has a radio room complete with

VHF, UHF, Low-band (47MHz) radios, computer on DOC LAN. No HF as of today.

 Shelters and Vehicles: No radio equipment available.

Radio operators need to be completely self contained.

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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What Can ARES Bring to the Party?

  • Equipment – Special Considerations

 Shelters:  No radio equipment available.  Radio operators need to be completely self

contained.

 Headphones & noise-cancelling mic

advisable.

 Vehicles – consider  Mag-mount antenna  Cig power connector  2M amplifier  ERVs have fiberglass roofs American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Most Important ... Willingness to be flexible within the parameters of the ARRL-ARC MOU

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Semper Gumby

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Training: A Continuous Work in Progress

Red Cross in-house training for:

  • What ARES can do for us during a disaster
  • How to use an ARES radio operator at HQ and in

a shelter

  • What do we need to provide the radio operator
  • When to use a general message form
  • Most Important: when to request ARES support

(when we need them is a bit late ...)

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

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Gold Country Region periodically has shelter exercises based on some kind of disaster event.

April 2015 “Golden Pineapple” where 9 shelters across region were opened. ARES was not formally written into exercise but was invited to participate. The Disaster Program Director intends to specifically write Amateur Radio into the next exercise (date 2016 tbd). The script will not be disclosed before the exercise. ARES support would be requested via normal channels:

  • Call(s) from Disaster Program Manager(s)
  • Call(s) from COML at Red Cross DOC

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

We Can Train Together

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ARES annual SET

  • Work together to create scenarios.
  • ARES opp to practice supporting a “served

agency”

  • Practice with Red Cross-specific traffic
  • Opp to familiarize with Red Cross
  • perations and equipment

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

We Can Train Together

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  • AEC assigned to the Red Cross
  • ARES 'first responders' to the Red

Cross DOC

  • Help for creating digital templates for

Red Cross forms, suitable for transmission over a digital path

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Other Ways We Can Use ARES Support

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Red Cross offers numerous free self-paced, on-line disaster training courses. ARES members might find some of the disaster basics classes highly useful as a basis to understand Red Cross

  • perations:
  • Disaster Cycle Services
  • Shelter Fundamentals
  • Damage Assessment Basics

https://embarc-learning.sabacloud.com

Highly Recommended if you take nothing else:

CPR / AED / Basic First Aid

American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Red Cross Free Disaster Training

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Red Cross Disaster Communications and the Amateur Radio / ARES Community

Now that you know our disaster comm needs, what can ARES do to help us?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Red Cross Disaster Communications and the Amateur Radio / ARES Community

Questions?

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Thank you!

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American Red Cross Gold Country Region

Recommended Resources:

  • QST Public Service column Aug 2015 Interfacing with

Local Emergency Officials

  • ARRL/ARC MoU (Search ARRL web site)
  • American Red Cross training

https://embarc-learning.sabacloud.com

– Disaster Services Cycle: an Overview – Shelter Fundamentals – ARC Concept of Operations

(classroom)