Kitchener-Waterloo Amateur Radio Club...

A read of the Public Service/ARES section of bi monthly Canadian Amateur our national Amateur publication, shows that a variety of public service activities are being undertaken by various clubs across Canada.

Many Amateur Radio clubs are aligned with one or two agencies, usually (volunteer) Fire Departments, where they develop close liaisons. In some case firefighters certify as Amateurs.These clubs are frequently provided with space in the fire station to set up equipment, and to operate. In some areas ARES operates as an independent group. In many club submissions, equipment needs and servicing tend to be the common themes.

KWARC is one of the few clubs that have submitted feature articles from time to time, directly associated with community service liaisons, and large scale emergency training exercises.

Waterloo Regional has a rather unique municipal structure. This is due to our very large and concentrated population. Thus it is able to provide a wide variety of community services. The problem then is that individual agency operational procedures, service overlap, and ensuing confusion in a crisis, is a real concern between these many independent agencies. To avoid this situation inter-agency staff familiarization can be critical.

The Ft.McMurray wildfire in Alberta is a recent example of the need for preparation and serious coordination of services to manage a large population in distress. Area Amateurs were organized and prepared to assist, c/w an HF net manager in BC. Because the wildfire was recognized very early on as an approaching threat, the province had advance warning and was able to plan communications and logistics in advance. ARES operators were on standby and kept informed. All operators were eventually required to evacuate and a net was not activated.

As an Amateur Radio club,we are rather unique as participating members of the Regional Social Services Planning Advisory Committee (SEEPAC) meetings. We have been involved consistently in the planning and implementation of the major training exercises. They include all of the Social Service agencies, including police and fire, with between 30 to over 100 participants.

Because we are very involved with the Region, it is important that our Emergency Services team fits comfortably into the group. Radio operators work closely with individual agency personnel, typically in an open office type setting.

Consequently, we need to have some group training beforehand. In most situations we would likely need about a dozen reasonable well trained radio operators. It is important that we be prepared for when it matters.

As with the Regions SSEPA Committtee participation, it is not about an exciting program as much as the need for members to establish and maintain this comfortable working relationships with their associates and a familiarity with formal message handling. We still have a ways to go to becoming a smoothly functioning team of operators. The training exercise will provides an opportunity to demonstrate the difference between rag chewing and formal, possibly critical, third party message passing.

At the Monday 3 October club meeting I will be asking for a show of hands as to interest, and a suitable evening for the training exercise. This exercise is to be conducted sometime in October. St. John Ambulance facilities are available to us on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Region of Waterloo Social Services Emergency Planning group in cooperation with the Township of North Dumfries will be running a major disaster relief exercise September 9. This will be a test of the Social Services Emergency Response plan; an opportunity for all partners - including the K-W Amateur Radio Club -to put into play their roles and responsibilities; and an opportunity for all partners to test their own response plans; as well as the suitability of the North Dumfries Community Complex as a Reception Centre.

I have been on the design team, which has met 3 times so far this summer. The team has been sorting out the logistics of running this event. The exercise will include all local Social Service agencies, and over 50 volunteer “evacuees”.

In the past Amateur radio services have largely been overlooked. This exercise will give us an opportunity to become more involved.
The role of Amateur Radio will be to maintain communications between the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) coordinating team and the individual agencies.

To be effective we will need to set up a series of sites, all within the Centre. This means that we will need a minimum of 9 and possibly 18 operators if we work in pairs, as well as 9 portable VHF radios.

We have been given the opportunity to demonstrate our willingness and expertise in assisting as partners in disaster management in Waterloo Region. Emergency Services has become a major role in Amateur radio, and is strongly promoted and supported by Radio Amateurs Canada. As members of K-W ARES, I am asking you to give serious consideration to participating in this exercise. Held at the North Dumfries Community Centre in Ayr, it is planned to begin at 8 AM and to conclude with a volunteer lunch at noon.

We are also being asked if we can supply some of the “evacuees” (evacuees will be assigned various simulated ailments!) This is an opportunity for anyone who would like to see how the different social agencies operate in an emergency situation. Spouses and friends (driving partners?) are welcome to participate-lunch included.

You are receiving this email because you indicated on a survey form after a spring Simulated Emergency Training (SET) exercise that you would willing to volunteer if you were available. If you are accidentally on this list, or no longer wish to be included, and wish to be removed, let me know. I was unable to create a BCC group list-sorry. Let me know if you see any address errors.

I need to submit to the organizers, as soon as possible, an idea of how many members we can provide, both for Operators, and especially for “evacuees”. If you should need to change your mind later on, a simple message is all that would be necessary.

Send via “REPLY” OR email VE3LGN@myrac.ca. Definitely can; Maybe can; Sorry Not Available- Maybe next time.

ARES K-W Amateur Radio Emergency Services

The brunt of winter came early this year, with blowing snow and white-outs arriving as early as late November and persisting into December,with the added touch of a second severe ice storm, and lengthy power outages. Remember that flash freeze of last April!

Then came an endless stream of severe winter conditions, topped off by the recent assault of super cold Arctic air

Were you prepared? Are you prepared for more, both at home and in your vehicle. It is recommended that drivers keep the vehicle fuel tank full, have some extra warm clothes (an old jacket and gloves), sand/salt, and a handy cell phone, especially for out of town trips.

The following web site is worth investigating.

>> http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/index.asp <<

I find myself becoming desensitised to the continuous onslaught of disasters and weather crawlers crossing my TV screen.

"Weather Outlook;Advisory; Watch;Warning"? ------What say!

Be particularly mindful of the Winter Storm Warning, which indicates that life-threatening, severe winter conditions have begun or will begin within 24 hours. People in a warning area should take precautions immediately.

On the topic of emergency planning:

The club's annual Emergency services simulation exercise is planned for the March Club meeting. This will be another opportunity for you to to refresh your message handling skills, or perhaps your first chance to learn how messages are moved in an emergency situation. You may have experience with various nets, such as the National Traffic Service, ONTARS, Laurentian or others, but this exercise is unique in that it will involve passing specific emergency-relevant messages. This form of message handling requires that specific protocols are followed. To do this comfortably requires a degree of familiarity with the routine and the message format, as well as team work.

Everyone is encouraged to attend, to participate or to observe. It's fun and exciting. Bring your hand held if you have one, and perhaps a friend, licensed or not. This is a great way to experience Amateur Radio in operation. You won’t be disappointed..

Larry VE3LGN

Certified Emergency Coordinator K-W ARES

RAC in association with the ARRL is organizing the annual North America wide Simulated Emergency Test, to be conducted on Saturday 19 October 2013. ARES, the NTS (National Traffic Service), and ONTARS (Ontario Amateur Radio Service) will be key players. The event has many similarities to a Field Day event in that it provides an opportunity for groups, as well as individuals to work together, locally and internationally. In this particular exercise the focus will be on emergency communications with local service agencies, and followup interaction with the NTS nets. Clubs across Canada are encouraged to become involved. Working directly with a local service agency would be an excellent way to demonstrate the useful possibiities of amateur radio in an actual emergency situation. A club exercise would not necessarily have to directly involve a relief agency. However, using ideas provided by an agency such as the Red Cross, or St. John Ambulance would help to give authenticity to a local event.

The NTS operates on HF as does ONTARS, (both on 3755.0 kHz-LSB) but this exercise emphasizes the local component, encouraging the use of VHF/UHF for the local scenario. The purpose of this exercise is to incorporate local participation, as well as interaction, with the National Traffic Service nets. This is meant to be an opportunity for local radio operators to participate in a large scale training exercise, to develop message handling skills, and for clubs to develop relationships with local relief agencies. Our club participates regularly with the Regional Social Services Emergency Planning Advisory committee, which includes all local relief agencies.

The main function of NTS in an emergency situation is to tie together all of the various local activities and to provide a means by which all traffic destined outside of a local area, section or region can be systematically relayed to the addressee.

The K-WARC executive is working on long range plans for the club to get more involved in emergency communications beyond the local level.

It was felt that time is rather short to develop a participating exercise for this year. However it is still possible to become involved. The Club is recommending that members with HF capabilities tune in to the NTS/ONTARS net frequency to become familiar with the operation of this exercise. It will be an interesting and worthwhile event, and may provide ideas for future involvement.

AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a voluntary organization of licensed radio amateurs who have registered their capabilities and equipment for providing emergency communications as a public service to the community.

The purpose of ARES is to furnish communications in the event of natural disaster when regular communications fail or are inadequate. Sponsored by RAC, the ARES functions at the local level to meet local communications needs.

The ARES has a long history of public service going back to its formal inception in 1935. Since that time the ARES has responded countless times to communications emergencies. Experience has proven that radio amateurs respond more capably in time of emergency when practice has been conducted in an organized group. There is no substitute for experience gained before the need arises.

The ARES in each locality operates under the direction of the Emergency Coordinator (EC), whose function is to direct the activities of the ARES to maintain a state of readiness. To register in the ARES, fill out then send or give this detachable Registration Form directly to your EC, or to RAC HQ for forwarding to your EC. Membership in RAC is desirable but not required for registration. Registration does not require possession of any special equipment. All amateurs can be of assistance to the ARES. There is room in ARES for every amateur regardless of class of license, equipment owned, or personal circumstances. Please consider joining us in providing this essential Amateur Radio Service?

The Kitchener Waterloo Amateur Radio Club is now affiliated with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) organization and is in the process of training it's members to provide Emergency Communications service in time of local or regional disasters.

The Emergency Coordinator for Kitchener-Waterloo is Larry Gorman VE3LGN. If you are interested in becoming a member of our local ARES group contact Larry at ares@kwarc.org.

The KWARC ARES group recently took part in Exercise Download. Click here to read the review.

This ARES Home Page should be book marked as it will keep KWARC members abreast of local and regional ARES activities and exercises.

For more information on the KWARC ARES program please contact our A.R.E.S. Emergency Coordinator Larry Gorman VE3LGN at ares@kwarc.org

The annual Simulated Emergency Training (SET) refresher exercise will be conducted at our March club meeting on Monday March 4. This will be an intersting experience, as we may have to operate on two floors at our new meeting place in the St.John Ambulance facility on Gage St. Kitchener. The exercise should take about an hour, with refreshments available in your breaks.

To be comfortable with emergency style communications, we can all benefit from regular practice. This will also be an opportunity to sit around and socialize with associates on your team, as well as a chance to give your handheld a workout. Don’t forget to check your battery status. Participation does not require that everyone has a radio.

Amateur Radio is becoming more about Emergency Communications, and we are recognized by the Region’s many emergency provider agencies as an important partner.

From time to time I am asked about our ability to provide communications help. Currently, the local St.John Ambulance Director is exploring the use of our services for a major provinical marathon when the weather warms up. It will undoubtedly be an intersting and fun way to get reinvolved with your radio gear, in the comfort of your own car.

For a heads up on the routine, refer to “How We Operate” in the ARES in Action column of the February 2013 Kilowatter.

Where we operate: In January, I mentioned the local agencies that we have offered to assist in a declared emergency*. Our Region has been fortunate in that our last major disaster was some 39 years ago, the May 1974 flooding of Galt. Since that time the Region has been more proactive in averting this, as well as other types of disaster. But it is wise to never say never. There is always a potential for disaster, and it can come in many different forms, and when least expected.

With communications needs a foremost concern, Amateur Radio should always be in standby mode.

While our local ARES team has not been involved in a real emergency, we have participated in numerous disaster management exercises over the past decade as well as facilitating various local service club endeavours.

Service club examples include: a Kitchener on-street bikeathon, a Waterloo Park charity dog walk, and a rural roads poker run.

Regional all-agency “table top” exercises include a simulated railway chemical spill near Ayr, a tornado touch down in Galt, a flood in Kitchener. In 2009 we were part of an on-site seniors home evacuation and triage exercise at the Kitchener auditorium. Three of our members were part of Operation Woolwich in Elmira in 2011. We have operated from municipal office sites, evacuation centres, on foot, and even stationary on-route vehicles. Equipment needs have varied from hand held radios to both fixed and mobile higher powered radios. Even FRS radios have found a place in our Emergency Radio Kits.

Some years ago the Red Cross made a last minute request for our help to assist with communications between Burlington and Guelph. The Guelph to K-W connection was already considered to be reliable. The purpose of this exercise was to test their District connections in the case of a telephone sytem collapse. These events have always, without exception, been fun and exciting, and real eye openers as to what goes right, and what needs improvement.

As a team, on our own initiative, we have also carried out simultaneous radio transmission testing between most of the designated emergency evacuation shelters throughout the Region.

How we operate: With enough participants, we typically work in 2-3 person teams at each station. Written messages are received and passed between our operators, and then delivered to the appropriate nearby authority. Message receipt confirmations, and replies are carried back for transmission. It is critical that messages be clearly written, by both the authorizing source and the radio operators at the receiving end. The submitted message need to be clearly legible, with time and authorizing agents signature checked before being relayed, and then read back for accuracy, before closing the contact. Printing is always preferred. The official forms that we use have specific places for all pertinent information. These transcriptions will become important post event documents, and so need to be accurate, readable, and dated at time of handling. The Agency authors of the messages are encouraged to be as concise and brief as possible.

The agencies that we deal with have personnel that are highly trained for their specific tasks. With demands on their particular skills, they may have neither the time nor the ability to handle message pile ups. It is often the case that other forms of communications frequently become overloaded in disasters, or the aid personnel are overwhelmed with emergency tasks. Our help could be crucial to the flow of information.

Our job is to assist by doing what we do best, to facilitate their communications needs.

The annual Simulated Emergency Training refesher exercise will take place at the March club meeting.

* A Declared Emergency is made by decision of the chief authority of the particular Municipality. Depending on the scope and nature of the disaster, this mayr be the Municipal Mayor or the Regional Chairman.

In 2006 Ben VE3ST and I arranged for the purchase and installation of a Yaesu FT8800 dual band radio, antenna and associated gear, at Kitchener City Hall. We were approached again this fall about setting up a second station at the new Operations Centre in south Kitchener. This project is now under way. As well as Kitchener, we currently have understandings to assist the Red Cross, the Region, and in association with our new found home for club meetings, possibly the St.John Ambulance.

CANWARN was alive and well this summer. Much like ARES in our area, and again, very fortunately, no emergency level situations visited upon us. To those who took time to check in, we thank you. Be it ARES or CANWARN, our local operators were prepared. Thanks to Dave VE3PMT, Ben VE3ST, Nick VA3NNW, Bob VE3XNB and Bonnie VA3BAM, & VE3LGN for taking scheduled Net Controller responsibilities over the summer.

Hams continue to volunteer their expertise at message handling in a variety of disaster situations, the most recent being the onshore arrival of Hurricane Sandy in New York. Public volunteerism is a social mainstay in situations too numerous to count any more. In the case of radio Amateurs, we are now widely recognized for our valuable potential in major emergencies.

Over the past several years I have assembled a list of Operators at our annual spring Simulated Emergency Training (SET) exercise. The fact that you/we are rarely called to help does not mean that we are redundant and unnecessary. Radio Amateurs Canada has recognized that the future of Amateur Radio lies in public assistance emergency communications. RAC now has experienced elected officials who are dedicated to organizing and promoting ARES acros the country. When our next SET exercise is held in March, please consider attending, for a refresher, or as a new volunteer. "When All Else Fails"

My definition of a volunteer: Someone who is willing, --and available; but not necessarily all of the time.

The March club meeting will be an opportunity for everyone in attendance to practice emergency message handling. This is an exercise that we need to undertake regularly so as to be familiar with message handling procedures. It is also an opportunity to get out your Handi and give it a workout.

We will work in small teams taking turns sending, transcribing, delivering, and responding to a variety of simulated situations that are somewhat typical of an emergency that might occur in our Region. The exercise should only take about an hour. Everyone will have an opportunity to participate. This will be followed by refreshments and an overview of the event.

Now is the time to relocate your handheld 2 metre radio and to check the state of the batteries. If you can't bring a handheld, don't worry, we should manage. This is a low key event, and should be quite interesting, as the team members sort out their rotating tasks. Wing 404 on Dutton Drive Waterloo (Off Weber) 7:30 on Monday 7 March. We hope to see you there.

The exercise has been moved up from the original April calendar date. Below is the simulation scenario that we will be dealing with.

Where we operate: In January, I mentioned the local agencies that we have offered to assist in a declared emergency*. Our Region has been fortunate in that our last major disaster was some 39 years ago, the May 1974 flooding of Galt. Since that time the Region has been more proactive in averting this, as well as other types of disaster. But it is wise to never say never. There is always a potential for disaster, and it can come in many different forms, and when least expected.

With communications needs a foremost concern, Amateur Radio should always be in standby mode.

Service club examples include: a Kitchener on-street bikeathon, a Waterloo Park charity dog walk, and a rural roads poker run.

As a team, on our own initiative, we have also carried out simultaneous radio transmission testing between most of the designated emergency evacuation shelters throughout the Region.

Our job is to assist by doing what we do best, to facilitate their communications needs.

The annual Simulated Emergency Training refesher exercise will take place at the March club meeting.

KWARC ARES has just been contacted and requested to provide primary communications for a situation that occurred just moments ago.

The first train of the recently completed RT system was making its inaugural run when braking problems occurred as it approached the Conestoga mall terminal. The train unexpectedly accelerated the south wall of the and proceeded to plough through parked cars and mall. A number of persons were seriously injured and many others are in a state of shock. The whole area has been cordoned off by Regional Police. The damage also took down the auxiliary power of the nearby cell phone tower.

The Regional Coordinator of Emergency Planning has asked if KWARC can provide radio operators for communications between various Social Service groups, the evacuation centres, as well as the Command centre.

ARES in Action October 2009

Ontario Wide Simulate Emergency Training exercise

The annual province wide emergency training exercise (SET) took place on Saturday 3 October. Dave V3PMT our designated ARES contact, linked VE3RBM to the Vancouver reflector early in the day. Both he and Bob VE3XNB made check ins and monitored activities throughout the day.

This net, which operates every year on the first Saturday of October, provides a valuable opportunity to test province wide Amateur Radio capabilities. We should always be prepared to assist in a large scale emergency.

Dave commented that all check ins were welcomed and no frustrating pile ups occurred.

Hopefully next year we will get more of our KWARC members to call in at some time during the day long event.

This event was sponsored by Radio Amateurs Canada, our national voice for Amateur Radio. <www.rac.ca>.

SSEPAC

Ben VE3ST, Dave VE3PMT and I attended the Regional Social Services Emergency Planning Advisory Committee quarterly meeting as reps of the KWARC ARES team. The meeting was held Thursday 15 October at the Salvation Army Citadel in Cambridge.

H1N1 and flu pandemic were again key topics on the agenda. The Regional Medical Health office gave an update on local planning. The Region has prepared as much as is possible, and does not foresee a need for any special preparation at this time.

Larry commented on our club SET exercise held this past spring and emphasized the importance of preparing concise messages containing clear instructions. He also pointed out that messaging in a noisy situation presented a challenge to both the sender and the receiver.

CANWARN-Summer program ends.

The KWARC CANWARN weather monitoring program ended October 29. While we maintained a full net management schedule, only a few Severe Weather nets were set up. The summer weather was rather indifferent this year-at least locally. Thanks go to Robin VE3OAV, BenVE3ST, Bob VE3XNB, Bonnie VA3BLM, and Nick VA3NNW for participating over the 5 month period.

We activated 3 nets over the summer, the last one during the Durham County and Markham F3 Tornado. Our Region experienced no significant severe weather.

Larry VE3LGN

Emergency Services Coordinator

VE3ST and I recently visited Kitchener City hall to complete the Amateur Radio emergency radio station installation. We have been consultating with city officials since this past spring. After checking out other municipal Amateur equipment set ups Ben put together a package suitable to operate an emergency station from city hall.

KWARC ARES is now an active part of the City of Kitchener's emergency planning program. At a follow up meeting in September, while Ben worked on the roof to complete the antenna connections, I programmed the new Yaesu 8800 dual band radio (@#$*&!!)

(If you buy a new rig that has the option of software programming through your computer, you will never regret the extra expenditure) While the city will own this equipment, KWARC Emergency Services has been asked to supply radio operators when needed.

This ARES rig at Kitchener city hall now has easy access to all of our VHF and UHF repeaters, as well as some in the more distant surrounding community repeaters, as well as selected CAll frequencies.

Since our last visit the building electrician had completed a major job of routing the feedline down to our communications room, and readying it for hook up. Ben was impressed with the very strong signal strength report coming back from VE3RCK.

The city emergency planning staff will be staging a simulation exercise in early Decemberr to test out their Emergency Operations Centre. We have been invited to participate.

K-W Amateur Radio Club - A Fall Emergency Training Exercise (2016)