Bloomington Amateur Radio Club

Serving Bloomington and Monroe County, Indiana Since 1967

Emergency Communications

The amateur radio community engages in emergencies primarily through two organizations, namely ARES and RACES, which provide formal structure and processes that amateur radio operators use when working with other emergency responders.

ARES and RACES

ARES stands for Amateur Radio Emergency Service and RACES for Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. Both represent formal, national groups with local chapters. The difference between the two is that participation in ARES is open – any ham can call into ARES nets, while RACES is more formal, associated with FEMA/FCC. You have to apply for RACES membership and swear an oath administered by the local RACES representative.

The Monroe County RACES representative is A.J. Ragusa KC9EVU. Here is how to join RACES.

The Indiana RACES site provides more information and materials.

Amateur Radio in Recent National Emergencies

Amateur radio has played a critical role in several national emergencies. According to Wikipedia, “Amateur radio operators belonging to ARES (and its predecessor, the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps) have responded to local and regional disasters since the 1930s, including the attacks of September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina. During the Katrina event more than one thousand ARES volunteers assisted in the aftermath and provided communications for the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and other individuals related to the relief effort. After Katrina Hancock County, Mississippi had lost all contact with the outside world, except through ARES operators who served as 911 dispatchers and message relayers.”

Monroe Country Emergency Communication Plan

Working in concert with the Monroe County ARES-RACES Group, BARC has prepared a formal Volunteer Emergency Communications Plan for Monroe County, Indiana. The following links provide details of the plan.

Volunteer Emergency Communication Plan

INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN	PAGES	FILE KB
Cover – Introduction, Mitigation, Preparedness	Cover-8, 9-13, 14-22	PDF 956 KB
Response, Recovery – Conclusion, Appendix – MOU/SOU w/ FEMA	23-34, 35-39, 40-43	PDF 1020 KB
Appendix – MC EMA RACES, Appendix – FCC 47/94 E, Appendix – ARES – RACES Application, Appendix – SOU w/ Red Cross, Appendix – MOU w/ National Weather Service, Appendix – MOU w/ Salvation Army, Appendix – CIBA Hilly 100, Appendix – State Science Olympiad, Appendix – ARRL Message Form, Appendix – ARES-RACES Asset List	44-50, 51-52, 53-54, 55-59, 60-61, 62-63, 64-68, 69-70, 71-73, 74	PDF 981 KB

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