Purpose
This plan provides information and guidelines to facilitate the sharing of amateur radio communications, human and technical resources within the Commonwealth of Kentucky as they relate to public service emergency and support requests.

Appendix A contains the current primary contact list for the KARES Plan

Definitions
Served Agency - The public service agency whose supplemental communication is supported by the Amateur Radio group.
Serving Group - The Amateur Radio group whose purpose is to provide supplemental communications for a Served Agency.
Served Agencies and Amateur Radio groups
An understanding of the KARES Plan by Amateur Radio groups and the Served Agencies will benefit both organizations.
Serving Groups will support the KARES Plan to facilitate communication between Served Agency and Serving Group.
The KARES Plan presumes each Serving Group serves at least one public service organization and that each Serving Group will make/have written agreement with their Served Agency.
Nothing in the KARES Plan shall supersede an existing agreement with a Served Agency.

The KARES Plan should be an addendum to each MOU.    

Coordination and Communication Between Serving Groups

Pre-event Coordination
The primary method of providing ongoing, non-emergency communications between Serving

Groups will be the statewide ARES nets held on HF on 3993.5 kHz on Monday nights at 7:30 Eastern.

During district check-ins several key elements shall be mentioned: Any changes in the Serving Group's status that may affect its readiness, announcements of and requests for assistance with events and a summary of After-Action reports.

All participants should check these announcements to minimize conflict with their own planning.

All ARES and affiliated groups shall appoint a responsible individual to participate in the nets on a regular basis. .

Emergency Coordination
In a large-scale event involving multiple nets, the Serving Group operations-coordinator / mission-coordinator shall assign an individual and equipment to handle liaison and coordination with other Serving Groups. Duties should be focused on coordination and not diverted by the actual emergency.

Activation and Jurisdiction
If any Serving Group has been requested to operate in an area outside of their normal area that is served by another group, the visiting group shall contact the local group for that area to coordinate a response. Reports will be forwarded to the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) and also made available via the State-wide KYHAM Web Page.

Participating organizations are encouraged to monitor 3993.5 kHz and 7.228 MHz when there is any indication of emergencies within Kentucky to facilitate support in less populated areas.

After-Action Report
In order to facilitate communications between groups, and spread knowledge, an After-Action Report in the form of a Public Service Activity Report shall be published after each exercise or real event.  This form is available on line at: http://www.kyham.net/forms/service.html

Training
All ARES districts shall implement the KY ARES Basic Training material.  Training is critical to the ability of any group to work effectively once an emergency occurs. Groups are encouraged to define the training requirements for individuals in their group. ARES Districts agree to make efforts to share training with other groups. Groups are encouraged to post training materials on the KYHAM Emergency Communications Web Page located at http://www.kyham.net/service.html

Formal training to include (but not limited to):

Resource Management
The goal of resource management is to have adequate personnel and equipment available when and where needed in support of the served agency(ies) and the serving groups.

Resource Management Team
When the mission coordinator deems that a resource management effort is required, it shall be established on a separate frequency from the Tactical Net and a resource management team established. If more than one group is involved, the team should include a member from each group. Volunteers, requests for equipment, and personnel will be referred to the resource management frequency. General information, announcements, etc., may also be handled on this frequency.

Staging Area
A staging area, where resources meet before going to their work site, has many advantages and is recommended. The ideal staging area will be outside the affected area, easy to find, and near a main road. The location of this staging area shall be selected after consultation with other involved groups and the served agency(ies) and may be a portion of the staging area used by the served agency. In a large situation, the resource team should have a member at the staging area to coordinate and relay available resource information to the resource team. Only persons available and ready for assignment or those coming off assignment shall be at the staging area. Amateur Radio operators will not go directly to any site other than the staging area unless authorized by net control or resource team.

Personnel and Equipment
Each volunteer shall contact their own designated representative (EC/AEC for ARES) and then the resource net, if operating, to volunteer for an event. First choice of event workers will be trained members and preference will be given to staffing single locations with people from a single group. Lists of personnel and equipment will not be centralized. Each group will maintain their own list of equipment and personnel.

Aid From Other Serving Groups
If local resources are insufficient, the resource management team shall contact the SEC and officers of serving groups in nearby areas to ask for resources. It is the responsibility of the resource manager to fully specify what they need. It is the responsibility of the officer of the asked serving group to estimate what his group can realistically provide and to assure that the group has adequate training, leadership and equipment for the assignment. The resource manager shall provide information about the local conditions and advise of special requirements or conditions. Each group shall notify the resource manager if they are unable to provide the requested resources. Any limitations on the field team, such as health restrictions, mustbe conveyed to the resource manager.

See Personal Equipment Check List for equipment each person may need to bring.

Scheduling and Assignments
In a multi-day event, there will be a resource net to confirm assignments for the following day.  This net will be scheduled to support the planning cycle at the Incident Command Post. Each Serving Group involved shall have a designated person check in and report for their group. Shift durations should be established to allow overlap for briefing/de-briefing.

Resource Report
The resource manager is responsible for generating resource reports. These reports will inform other groups about the Amateur Radio resources and schedules needed for this event. These reports will include:
  1. Name and brief description of the event, including location if applicable.
  2. Operations net frequency.
  3. Number of sites supported.
  4. Number of amateur radio operators involved.
  5. Frequency of the resource net.
  6. List of additional resources needed.
  7. Unique requirements.

A resource report shall be distributed to the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) via E-mail if possible.

Individual Emergency Plans
Each ARES Group shall prepare an individual emergency plan addressing all aspects of its preparedness. Emergency Operating Plans should be made available on the Statewide ARES Web Page.

As a minimum, each plan shall address the following issues:

  1. Group structure.
  2. Emergency communication plan.
  3. Activation process.
  4. Frequency/mode plan.
  5. Close out and debriefing

Local Responsibilities
Most emergencies occur at a local level. As such each local ARES Group is responsible for the following:

  1. Call up list and procedures 
  2. Resource list  
  3. Emergency plan 
  4. Liaison with served agency
  5. Liaison with other serving groups
  6. Simulated emergency exercises (annually as a minimum)
  7. Formal training as detailed in the Training portion of this document.
  8. File After-Action Report.
Escalation Procedures
A large-scale event is one that involves Amateur Radio Operators from outside the local area. For large-scale events, the following guidelines apply:
  1. The Section and District ECs shall be notified.
  2. The District EC shall contact the KY District Emergency Management Manager to assess the needs. 
  3. The Local/District Emergency Management Director and the ARES EC or DEC shall notify the SEC of what resources are required.
  4. The SEC or local DEC will determine where to pull the resources from and notify those area DEC’s of the need.
  5. ARES leaders in adjacent areas shall be notified.
  6. Resource manager shall be appointed.
  7. Resource report shall be generated and distributed.
  8. Event Coordination Team shall be established,

a.       The purpose of amateur radio event coordination is to manage the amateur radio response to the event. The primary functions are to manage resources, coordinate the various ARES Groups and insure effective net operations. In cooperation with the NTS leadership, it may choose to take steps such as declaring a 24-hour embargo on incoming health and welfare traffic. The team must have at least one experienced representative from the local ARES Group plus representatives from other assisting radio groups. If there is no organized local group, nearby groups, shall join together to form the team.  The team leader shall be the interface with amateur radio groups outside of the Section. 

Incident Command System shall be used.  Most served agencies use the Incident Command Systemfor events of a magnitude where amateur radio would be involved. Serving Groups are strongly encouraged to learn about the Incident Command System (ICS) and how we fit in the ICS structure.

See "Where we fit in the organization" in the ECom ICS page for more information.

  1. "Amateur radio liaison" shall be established.  This person should work within the served agency's Incident Command structure to see that the Amateur Radio effort fits within their needs. This person's primary function is to interpret the served agency needs, and offer solutions for those needs. He/she must be careful to make realistic assessments of what amateur radio can deliver to the incident.
Net Control Operations

Net Control Station (NCS)
An Operations Net shall be established to begin every event. If the magnitude of the event warrants, a Resource Management Net shall be established on a separate frequency. All of the net control operators shall be trained and experienced net control operators. During all emergencies or major events a second person should be assigned to the NCS operator. This person will handle logging and contact with served agencies as necessary. If any of the following tasks must covered at the NCS location, additional personnel should be assigned as required:

  1. Liaison to served agency.
  2. Resource management.
  3. Phone calls to notify members (call out).
  4. Message delivery/runner.
  5. Liaison to additional frequencies.
Safety, Legal and Insurance Issues
Safety must be everyone's concern. Emergency service may involve inherently hazardous situations. In our litigious society, almost any activity can involve legal considerations. The ideas below are guidelines that will improve safety and reduce risk.

Safety and Preventing Injuries

  1. Stress safety in all member training
  2. Use wise assignment of personnel by being aware of physical and other limitations of the members.
  3. Ensure persons assigned to a potentially hazardous situation fully understand the situation and accept that risk as their own.

Acknowledgement of Risk
Assure that members understand that emergency service can be hazardous, that he/she agrees to assume the risks, and that he/she may decline any assignment for any reason. Be sure each person understands that they are responsible for their own safety.

Workman's Compensation Insurance
If possible, Workman's Compensation Insurance should be obtained for members. In many cases, it may be possible to obtain a written agreement with the served agency in which the agency agrees to provide Workman's Compensation Insurance coverage for members serving the agency.

Volunteer Protection Act
The Volunteer Protection Act (Public Law 105-19) was enacted on June 18, 1997. This law provides certain protections to volunteers, nonprofit organizations, and governmental entities in lawsuits based on the activities of volunteers.

KY Scanner Law
The Kentucky Scanner Law provides that FCC licensed amateur radio operators may have radios capable of receiving police and fire frequencies in their vehicles.  (KRS.432.570) Amateurs are recommended to carry a copy of this law, with a copy of your amateur license attached, in all vehicles!

KY Volunteer Protection Law
The Kentucky Volunteer Protection Law provides protection for those that are called out by emergency management agencies to protect volunteers from losing their employment.  (KRS.337.100)