Amateur Radio Emergency Service

Connecticut Region One Emergency Plan

The Region 

 

Connecticut’s Region One covers the First and Second Tier towns of Southern Fairfield County. Potential emergencies for this region arise from coastal flooding, blizzards, ice storms, hurricanes and terrorist activities. Each of these emergencies would probably result in loss of communications infrastructure and might cause displacements of portions of the population of major towns and cities. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service is prepared to assist in emergencies by providing reserve radio communications resources consisting of trained volunteer radio operators that provide their own equipment and physical resources. The region also provides emergency communications support for the American Red Cross. Region One is divided into three administrative areas with and has a combined membership of over 80 operators. The Areas can act independently in local emergencies or can be coordinated on a regional or statewide basis.

 

The Areas

Western

The Western Area covers the towns of Greenwich, Stamford, and Darien. There are two VHF and one UHF Amateur Radio Repeaters covering the zone. One of the VHF repeaters is covered by an emergency power system. The zone has High Frequency coverage capable of statewide and nationwide communications.

Central

The Central Area covers the towns of Norwalk, Westport, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston and Easton. Two VHF and two UHF Amateur Radio Repeaters cover the zone. One of the VHF repeaters has wide area coverage and is supported by emergency power.  This zone has High Frequency coverage for statewide and nationwide coverage that can be deployed, with emergency power capabilities, in the field by utilizing portable equipment. The zone has a local Rapid Response Structure and services Emergency Operations Centers in four towns.

Eastern

The Eastern Area covers the towns of Stratford, Fairfield, Trumbull, Monroe, and the City of Bridgeport. Two VHF repeaters and one UHF repeater provide coverage for the zone. This zone includes support for the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security regional Emergency Operations Center. Digital communications modes are supported for secure transmission of sensitive data. The zone supports High Frequency equipment and is capable of statewide and nationwide communications. The zone is equipped for emergency power and can support independent field operations.  

Action Plans

Plans for the region are activated by request from the local Emergency Authorities in the region. Communities in the region have agreements with ARES to provide specific communications services in emergencies. These services include providing basic communications for emergency shelters and functions supporting those shelters, providing extended coverage for areas where statewide communications systems may have reduced service, providing communications support for the American Red Cross and providing interagency communications support for Emergency Response Services. ARES provides formal handling of Health and Welfare messages through the National Traffic System into and out of the region.

ARES Region One Leadership 

District Emergency Coordinator

Allan Valeo, NN1H

E-mail allan.valeo@snet.net 

Assistant District Emergency Coordinator

            Toy Alladin, K1WYQ                       

E-mail toyalladin@att.net

 

Western Area Emergency Coordinator

Frank Cassella KB1IFX           

            E-mail kb1ifx@arrl.net

 

Central Area Emergency Coordinator

Tim Walker, W1GIG           

            E-mail w1gig@att.net

 

Eastern Area Emergency Coordinator

Mike Abramowitz, KA1EOU           

            E-mail mabramowitz@netzero.com   

 

CT Region One - Western ARES Group Emergency Plan Covering The Towns of Darien, Stamford and Greenwich 

ARES is an acronym for the Amateur Radio Emergency Services.  The service is sponsored and directed by the American Radio Relay League, the national organization of amateur radio operators, which sets the standards for it’s membership and training. They coordinate their response efforts with its trained members to major disasters in this Country, Nationally and Abroad. The ARES Group utilizes the same 6 Regions that The Connecticut State’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security uses to serve its Cities and Townships during weather alerts, disasters or other. The local Group coordinates their Emergency Communications Skills and equipment in efforts to serve their local agencies needs in a time of disaster.  They provide their expertise, knowledge and skills base in Radio Emergency Communications. They stand ready to provide trained communicators whenever they are requested or directed to do so.  

Throughout the year the Connecticut ARES and Local Groups conducts Emergency Communications Exercises and Training Sessions on a regular basis with its membership. In addition to and when requested upon conduct joint training sessions with their serve agencies in a cooperative effort to further hone their skills and practice working together.  Because of there training and understanding of what the served agencies needs are in a time of disaster a cooperative effort exists in their working relationships in disaster preparedness.  The local served agencies may call upon the Group to augment or assist them with their agencies needs in Radio Emergency Communications.  The American Red Cross may call upon the Group to assist them with Shelter Operations and Radio Communications to their Headquarters in Hartford about their needs in times of crisis.  In addition, the local Regional ARES Group can be called upon to make notifications to the national organization to generate additional trained personnel and dispatch them in an organized manner to the marshalling point near the local scene.  In this way the volunteers on site are not stretched beyond their capabilities. 

The Stamford Amateur Radio Association and Club (SARA) support the Region 1 – West ARES Group as part of the Connecticut Amateur Radio Emergency Services. The region is part of the New York to Boston Corridor, our primary area of operational concerns for Emergency Communications are the Stamford, Darien and Greenwich Townships.  

CT Region One - Western

Leadership 

The ARES Emergency Coordinator and Assistant for Region 1 – West are:

Frank Cassella, KB1IFX, EC 

Jon Perlstein, KB1QBZ, AEC 

The Region 1, District Emergency Coordinator is:

Allan Valleo, NN1H

 

ARES Resources

Region 1 – West has 10 qualified and fully trained members that participate on a regular basis.  Training includes radio operations under field conditions and a working familiarity with NIMS/ICS structure and procedures.

Served Agencies

The City of Stamford upon request will ask the Region 1 – West Group to operate the SARA Amateur Radio equipment located at the Emergency Operations Center or back up site Sterling Farms with there are HF, VHF, and UHF equipment and capabilities.  

The American Red Cross Darien/Stamford and Greenwich Chapters upon request will ask for assistance with Emergency Radio Communications support in their local shelters or CTWEB Emergency Operations Center where there are trained qualified members.

Marshalling Areas

At the Government Center’s lobby located at 888 Washington Blvd, Stamford, CT or as directed.  The American Red Cross Darien/Stamford Chapter, 112 Prospect Street, 2nd Floor, Stamford, CT.  The American Red Cross Greenwich, 99 Field Rd, Greenwich, CT

Assets & Training

The Stamford EOC has HF, VHF and UHF capabilities. Monthly drills are conducted over the W1EE amateur radio repeaters system located at the Stamford Hospital and back repeater radio site at the Sterling Farms Golf Course.  Annually and under field conditions the group conducts training with their Emergency Communications Equipment at Field Day a Nationwide Emergency Training Exercise to further practice their communication skills. All of the local area repeaters operate with back up uninterruptible power sources and back up batteries.  They are frequently tested to insure their readiness for Emergency Communications should the need arise.

  

CT Region One - Western

Area Repeaters

Simplex Communications:

Emergency Operations Centers or Sterling Farms Auxiliary EOC

Stamford Government Center

American Red Cross Darien/Stamford Chapters Emergency Operations Location

American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter Emergency Operations Location

High Frequency Operation/Very High Frequency/Ultra High Frequency

HF/VHF/UHF

Members are available for Liaison to Statewide ARES Nets Field Deployment  

 

CT Region One - Central ARES Group Emergency Plan

Covering the City of Norwalk, and the

Towns of Easton, New Canaan, Weston, Wilton and Westport 

The ARES Group

ARES is an acronym for Amateur Radio Emergency Service.  The service is sponsored and directed by the American Radio Relay League, the national organization of amateur radio, which sets standards for membership, training and coordinates national responses to major disasters.  In Connecticut,  ARES is organized into 6 Regions that are the same as  the 6 regions used by the State for Emergency Service planning.  The local ARES groups coordinate with the various services in the towns they serve and stand ready to provide trained communicators with their own radio equipment on an as needed basis whenever they are requested to do so by the served towns.  The group holds many of their own practice and training sessions during the year and also joins the served agencies in practice and training exercises such as the recent Exercise Top off.  In a major emergency the local groups can call on the national organization to generate additional trained personnel and dispatch them in an organized manner to a marshalling point near the local scene.  In this way the volunteers on site are not stretched beyond their capabilities.  

ARES Resources

Region 1- Central has 16 qualified and fully trained members that participate on a regular basis.  Training includes radio operations under field conditions and a working familiarity with NIMS/ICS structure and procedures. In addition there are about 20 additional reserve members who can be called upon in an emergency to obtain specific talents on an as needed basis.  A telephone tree is used to alert ARES members to the specific need of the moment.  However it is usually not needed as the members meet on the local repeater to coordinate their response as soon as they suspect that they will be needed.  Any of the above listed individuals (or the local representative) can be called on to initiate a response from ARES at any hour of the day or night.

 

CT Region One - Central

Served Agencies

No “Memorandums of Understanding” below the national level exist as they have not been requested by the served agencies.  If desired by the local organizations, they can be created, based on the national standards.  Thus, most of the coordination locally is based on personal contact with the local agencies by radio amateurs living in the towns they serve.  Typically this contact is with the Director of Emergency Services or with the Police and/or Fire Chief.  Contact is also maintained with the Red Cross, Salvation Army and State Emergency Management Organization.  

Marshalling Points

As discussed above these generally come in to play only in a very major catastrophe.  In the initial phase on any assignment, the amateur leaders will respond to the local EOC and will dispatch their own members by radio to the location required.  Only when personnel are required from out of the covered area will a marshalling location be established to credential the incoming forces and direct them to the desired location. 

Assets

A majority of local ARES members are also affiliated with the Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club.  The club owns and maintains two repeater stations in the immediate area.  There are also two other repeaters that are privately owned.  As is true of the amateurs themselves, in an emergency all assets are made available to respond to the emergency.  The repeaters are located at sites that have emergency power backup and some have UPS batteries to carry them until the generators start.  The club also has several tents and a 50 foot mobile tower and other equipment that can be used if required.  Some ARES members also have their own generators that they are willing to share during blackouts.  

Emergency Response

ARES response is based on the needs of the served agencies to communicate within the immediate area of the disaster event and/or from the immediate area to points outside the area.  In either case, normal means of communication have been damaged or are seriously overloaded.  ARES provides trained communicators and access to paths that are outside and independent of the normal routes and equipment.  In addition to communications, ARES members can be used to observe and gather information relieving the managers of the event from assigning their resources to this function.  Since the ARES members

 

CT Region One - Central  

Typically are familiar with technical issues, they are often of use in creating field expedients to solve problems related to the situation. 

Weather events: rain and flooding, hurricanes, ice storms, etc. are the triggers for most events.  In addition, man made causes such as explosions, failure of power or telephone systems, bridge collapse and any other sort of event that causes wide spread failure of  communications within the area. 

Attachments

Attached is a listing of specific details on the assets available to the Region 1-Central ARES Group. 

 

CT Region One Eastern ARES Group Emergency Plan

Covering the Towns of

Bridgeport, Fairfield, Stratford, Monroe, Trumbull 

The ARES Group

Is part of the Connecticut Region One ARES Organization and is associated with the 441.700 Repeater System Group and the 146.445 WK1M Repeater System (dedicatedly linked together for all emergency situations, and is supported in large part by the members of the Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club (GBARC)). Its focus is that part of the New York to Boston Corridor encompassing the cities and towns making up the eastern portion of Region One of Connecticut’s DEHMS. The Group supports ARES, St. Vincent’s Medical Center EOC and the Mid-Fairfield County American Red Cross Chapter. Also, we have Coordinated Mutual Aide with the Region Two Derby Emergency Operations Center. GBARC also conducts monthly drills on the local repeaters, supports Field Day activities for the Members of GBARC, and participates in numerous yearly Simulated State-wide Emergency Drills and Tests for both Connecticut Homeland Security and Connecticut ARES. 

Membership

31 active and reserve members. 

Served Agencies

American Red Cross – Mid Fairfield County Chapter

Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) – Region One Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

Bridgeport DEMHS EOC

Stratford DEMHS EOC

Monroe DEMHS EOC

St. Vincent’s Medical Center EOC 

 

CT Region One - Eastern

Marshalling Points

Region One EOC Troop-G State Police Barracks, 164 Prospect Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604

Mid-Fairfield County American Red Cross EOC, 158 Brooklawn Ave. Bridgeport, CT 06604

St. Vincent’s Medical Center EOC, 2800 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT.  06608

Stratford EOC, 2750 Main Street, Stratford, CT.  06615

Monroe Police Station, 7 Fan Hill Road, Monroe, CT. 06468 

Assets

Repeaters

                        *441.700/446.700 PL 77.0 Hz N1KGN/R Milford (Primary)

                        *146.445/147.445 PL 77.0 Hz WK1M/R Bridgeport (Primary)

(*) Repeaters Linked for Simultaneous Emergency Communications & Extended Coverage.

                        **145.190/144.590 PL 77.0 Hz WK1M/R Ansonia/Derby (Secondary 2 Meters)

                        **442.900/447.900 PL 77.0 Hz WK1M/R Ansonia/Derby (Secondary 440 MHz)

(**) Repeaters in Association with Region Two Derby EOC Center. Available by Remote Link.

                        146.895/146.295   PL 77.0 Hz N1MUC/R Bridgeport (Secondary 2 Meters)

                        441.500/446.500   PL 77.0 Hz N1LXV/R Bridgeport (Secondary 440 MHz) 

            Simplex

                        146.550 PL 77.0 Hz Stratford Club Simplex

                        145.575 PL 77.0 Hz 2 Meter Simplex

                        445.575 PL 77.0 Hz 440 MHz Simplex [Repeaters and other equipment]

 

Primary Emergency Response

Hurricane, Flooding, Blizzard, Power Outage:

Region One Eastern ARES Group provides communications for the Region One Emergency Operations Center in Bridgeport, the Bridgeport EOC, St. Vincent’s Medical Center EOC, Mid-Fairfield County American Red Cross Chapter in Bridgeport, as well as, Mutual Aide and support for the Derby EOC Region Two in support of Emergency Shelters with personnel assigned to the Shelters and Emergency Communications Vehicles. The Region One Eastern ARES Group will provide personnel as needed to relieve communications overloads within the supported towns. Trained SkyWarn Spotters are provided as needed.

 

CT Region One - Eastern

Potential Major Disaster Response

Direct Major Hurricane Impact, Terrorist Activity, Major Power Outage:

During major disasters Region One Eastern ARES Group will assign Net Control and Agency Liaison personnel at the Region One EOC. The Group is prepared to deploy both people and equipment as needed to support communications needs in affected areas. VHF/UHF communications are reliable with major Shoreline regions and areas throughout Fairfield County and inland, while having a UHF Repeater (441.700 PL 77.0 Hz) in Milford, CT. that has remote based link system enabling local VHF/UHF Communications to be sent to the Hartford Region for statewide emergency disaster communications. Also, the Region One EOC is equipped with an Amateur HF Station that is reliable statewide and/or interstate. Mutual Aide and Support with both St. Vincent’s Medical Center EOC and the Derby EOC Center is available. 

 

 

 J/S WB1GRB  9/9/09/ 

 HTTP://www.ctsara.org/