Presentation made at the 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness. The presentation outlines how the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District has integrated ARES into CERT to provide emergency communications into the EOC, and if needed the County OES.

1. Contra Costa County ARES
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness
Emergency Communications
Integrating ARES into CERT

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Danielle Bell –KI6FYR
Emergency Coordinator
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
dbell@srvfire.ca.gov
Herbert Cole – AI6AT
Section Emergency Coordinator
ARRL East Bay Section
Lead Instructor – CERT
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
ai6at@arrl.net
This presentation is available online at:
http://citizencorps.gov/downloads/pdf/news/nccp/CERT_Cole.pdf
Presented By

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Today’s Talking Points
• Who the San Ramon Valley is and were headed
• Why our beliefs have produced results
• What ARES is and how it works with the SRV
Council
• Describe existing ARES/RACES Network
• Field Day 2008 Proof of Concept & SET Exercise
• How it all comes together and works beautifully

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155 Square Miles
Population: 160,000+
60 First Responders on duty at any given time
(Fire and Law Enforcement)
700+ CERT Members 30 ARES Members
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District

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CERT & The San Ramon Valley
 San Ramon Valley Emergency Preparedness Citizen
Corps Council formed in 2006.
 It brought together the Town and City leaders for the
first time at the same table.
 The Council originally formed for CERT, but decided it
was a great way to prepare the community as a whole
to be prepared for any disaster

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Roles within the Citizen Corps Council
 Town or City
 San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
 SRVFPD CERT coordinator
 San Ramon/Danville Police Department and CCC
Sheriff’s Office
 San Ramon Unified School District
 Red Cross
 OES CERT Coordinator
 Contra Costa Sheriff Search & Rescue
 Hospitals
 Salvation Army
 Faith Based Groups
 FRS / Ham Communications

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Options and Opportunities
• When the concept of CERT and the Citizen Corps Council
was brought to the table in 2006 it seemed to be an
overwhelming task. Our District wanted EVERYONE at the
table.
• This is when we realized we can only think there are
OPTIONS & OPPORTUNTIES for Preparedness in the San
Ramon Valley.
• We had to plug into the current adherence to ICS and
SEMS to insure effective and coordinated response.

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The CERT Program would adhere to the
following principles:
1. NIM’s and SEM’s Compliant ICS Structure
2. Would be fully integrated into the
District’s “Official” disaster response.
3. Owned at the “Neighborhood” level.
You Embrace What You Build
Creating a Foundation

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CERT Divisions
Fire Station / CERT Divisions
CERT Divisions are
based on Fire Station
boundaries of
responsibility.
Each CERT Division
Functions as a stand
alone NIM’s Compliant
Incident Command
Post.

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CERT
Coordinator
CERT
Plans
CERT
Operations
CERT
Logistics
CERT
Admin
NIMS / SEMS Compliant Incident Command System
CERT Organizational Structure

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CERT
Coordinator
CERT
Plans
CERT
Operations
CERT
Division 3X
CERT
Division 32
CERT
Division 32
Planning
Staging
CERT
Division 32
Operations
SAR Medical Fire / Utility
CERT
Division 32
Logistics
EmComm Equipment Medical
CERT
Division 3X
CERT
Logistics
CERT
Admin
CERT Organizational Structure

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CERT is Integrated into the San Ramon
Valleys Incident Command System
and is a “PEER” to Law Enforcement
and Fire/EMS.
A Unique Approach

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Unified
Command
EOC
Planning Operations
Law
Enforcement
CERT Fire / EMS
Logistics
Finance /
Admin
CERT steps into the Unified Command

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Unified
Command
EOC
Operations
Law
Enforcement
Dispatch
CERT Fire / EMS
Dispatch
No
Communications
Capability
But CERT has a Problem…

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 ARRL - The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the
national membership association for Amateur Radio
Operators in the United States. ARRL represents
approximately 156,000 members. ARRL is also
International Secretariat for the International Amateur
Radio Union, which is made up of similar societies in 150
countries around the world.
 ARES - The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is
an ARRL sponsored program and consists of licensed
Amateur, a.k.a Ham Radio Operators who have voluntarily
registered their qualifications and equipment for
communications duty in the public service when disaster
strikes. ARES has signed a Statement of Affiliation with the
Department of Homeland Security and is now a recognized
affiliate of Citizen Corps.
ARES to the Rescue

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City
Region
District
Section
Section
Emergency
Coordinator
District
Emergency
Coordinator
Emergency
Coordinator
Assistant
Emergency
Coordinator
Assistant
Emergency
Coordinator
Emergency
Coordinator
Assistant
Emergency
Coordinator
ARES Organization

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Individuals
Regional
County County Net
South
County Net
KI6FYR AI6AT
Central
County Net
KI6BED
East
County
Net
West
County Net
Existing ARES Net Infrastructure

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OES
EOC
CERT Divisions
CERT Field Teams
FRS Neighborhood Nets
An Integrated Net is an Efficient Net
 Bottom Up Information Flow
 “Dynamic” EmComm Nets
• Neighborhood FRS/GMRS Net
• CERT Division Net
• Integrated ARES Station
• Regional EOC Net
• Integrated ARES Station
• County OES
• Integrated ARES / RACES Stations
Designing an Integrated EmComm Solution

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Field Day 2007
Neighborhoods
CERT IC Post
CERT Field TeamsAmateur Radio Operator
An experiment in bringing two established and diverse cultures together in
a cooperative environment to affect a common goal.

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Neighborhoods
CERT IC Post
CERT Field Teams
Regional EOC
County OES
Amateur Radio Operator
The Integrated ARES Concept

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Neighborhoods /
CERT Teams
CERT Division
(ARES)
EOC
(ARES)
County OES
(ARES / RACES)
County Net
South
County Net
Division 3X
KI6FYR
FRS
Division 32
AI6AT
The ARES Network

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155 Square Miles
Population: 160,000
60 First Responders on duty at any given time (Fire and Law Enforcement)
700+ CERT Members 30 ARES Members
CERT / SET 2008
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District

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CERT / SET 2008
Scenario: September 20th, 05:47 AM Pacific Daylight Time, a magnitude 7.7
earthquake shook the San Ramon Valley and San Francisco Bay regions. The
epicenter was located in Alamo , CA and the earthquake was felt over most of central
California and in part of western Nevada . Communities sustaining heavy damage near
the epicenter include San Ramon Valley , Walnut Creek , Concord. NO UTILITIES

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CERT / SET 2008
Goal: Establish 7 CERT Incident Command Posts with integrated ARES EmComm
Stations, begin disaster response operations, and report back to San Ramon
Emergency Operations Center.

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CERT / SET 2008
Secondary Goal: Establish San Ramon and Danville Emergency Operations Center
and establish amateur radio communications with Contra Costa County Office of
Emergency Services.

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CERT / SET 2008
Alamo, California
21Square Miles
Population: 16,000
6 First Responders on duty at any given time
15 CERT Members 7 ARES Members

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CERT / SET 2008
Stone Valley CERT Incident Command Post
To be established within 1 - 3 hours of the initial event.

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CERT / SET 2008
CERT Members
Gather Damage Assessment Intelligence on the way to the CERT
Incident Command Post. Windshield Survey

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CERT / SET 2008
FRS Emergency Net
Trained to gather and report damage and injuries in their immediate
and surrounding neighborhoods.

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CERT / SET 2008
A Picture begins to develop as to where response efforts are most
needed.

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CERT / SET 2008
CERT Resources are deployed to where they are needed most

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As EmComm traffic flows from the CERT Incident Command Post’s to the EOC, the
EOC is able to develop an overall picture of the current response efforts. This
provides the EOC with important tactical information necessary for planning
response strategies in upcoming operational periods.
CERT / SET 2008

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EmComm traffic flows from the Regional ARES Nets into the County OES, allowing
the OES to develop an overall picture of the current damage and response efforts.
CERT / SET 2008

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Key Learning Points from CERT / SET 2008:
 ARES establishes necessary links for gathering and sharing information
 ARES allows for development of a focused strategic response
Terrain has serious implications for ARES operations
 ARES enhances the effectiveness of small tactical units by focusing
energies on critical response needs
 Amateur Radio is the ONLY failsafe means of Emergency
Communications
CERT / SET 2008

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How to Integrate ARES
CERT ARES
NIMS
Unified Command
The Key to ARES CERT
Integration is a 3 Step
Process.
We build the puzzle one
piece at a time.

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Step 1 to ARES Integration
Establish NIMS compliant
Incident Command System
within your CERT
CERT
Coordinator
CERT
Plans
CERT
Operations
CERT
Division 3X
CERT
Division 32
CERT
Division 32
Planning
Staging
CERT
Division 32
Operations
SAR Medical Fire / Utility
CERT
Division 32
Logistics
EmComm Equipment Medical
CERT
Division 3X
CERT
Logistics
CERT
Admin

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Step 2 to ARES Integration
 Sets forth the detailed operational plans and
policies to be subscribed to by both parties during
drills, and actual events.
 Ensures that both parties to the local agreement
have a realistic assessment of the resources
brought to the table by the ARRL, and the needs
of the Citizen Corps Council.
Establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

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Step 3 to ARES Integration
Train Together
Train Together
And Train Together Some More

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Questions