CHiPP Radio Team Training for the May 7 Earthquake Drill

1. CHiPP Radio Team Training for the May 7 Earthquake Drill • Purpose of the radio team • To convey emergency information from the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to Capitol Hill residents • To report emergencies on Capitol Hill to the EOC • How the team works. Three main tasks (for now): • Message taker • At a hub site • Collects information from a neighbor reporting an emergency • Puts that information into an ACS message form for sending over radio • Radio operator • At a hub site • Sends information on the ACS message forms over radio to CHiPP net control • Receives information sent over radio from net control to the hub • Net control • At the ACS radio position • Receives ACS message form data over radio from hub radio operators • Puts that information into an ACS message form for the ACS radio operator to send to the EOC • Receives information from the ACS radio operator • Sends that information to the hub radio operators over the air

2. ACS position EOC Ham radio ACS radio operator EOC net control CHiPP net control GMRS GMRS Hub Hub Radio operator … Radio operator Reporter Message taker Message taker

4. ACS position EOC ACS radio operator EOC net control 6 7 5 CHiPP net control 4 Hub Hub Radio operator Radio operator … 3 2 Reporter Message taker Message taker 1

5. Example hub radio workflow • Reporter comes to hub and describes emergency. • “The gas station at Broadway and Roy blew up and is burning! Can’t tell if anybody’s hurt.” • Message taker interviews reporter and fills out ACS message form. • In addition to filling out the block data, the MT creates a new field message number for the message, which has a two letter location prefix and a three-digit message serial number. So for the fifth message from the Cal Anderson hub, the field message number is CA005. • Message taker hands the completed form to the radio operator. • Radio operator sends message to net control. • RO: Net control, this is Cal Anderson. • NC: Go ahead Cal Anderson. • RO: I have a priority one message for you. • NC: Go ahead with your priority one message. • RO: Block one. Gas station explosion and fire. No known injuries. Over. • NC: Received block one. Go ahead with block two. • RO: Block two. Uncontrolled fire about 50 yards from houses. Wind blowing toward houses. Over. • NC: Received block two. Go ahead with block three. • And so on through the rest of the ACS message form. • Net control fills out ACS message form during contact with Cal Anderson RO. • Net control hands completed message form to ACS radio operator. • ACS radio operator transmits ACS message to EOC net control.

6. Using the radio • On a telephone, you can talk and listen at the same time. Either speaker can interrupt the other • On a radio, only one side can talk at a time. While that side is talking the other side must listen • Though multiple hub radio operators may want to talk to net control at the same time, net control can only talk with one hub radio operator at a time • This limitation makes it necessary to structure radio communications differently than phone communications • When a hub radio operator has a message to send, they must first ask net control for permission • RO: “Net control, this is Cal Anderson.” • NC: “Go ahead Cal Anderson” or “Stand by Cal Anderson” • When a radio operator is finished with a transmission, they must say “over” to let net control know that they are done and it’s net control’s turn to talk.

8. Basic Radio Practices & Procedures • Know where you are • Use tactical call signs • Compose your message before transmitting • Break up long messages into small, logical segments • Pause before transmitting • Prioritize your messages • Identify • Speak slowly • Use International [ITU] phonetic alphabet • Think, then talk • Confidentiality • Plain language

9. Phonetic alphabet A--Alfa “AL-FAH” B--Bravo “BRAH-VOH” C--Charlie “CHAR-LEE” D--Delta “DELL-TAH” E--Echo “ECK-OH” F--Foxtrot “FOKS-TROT” G--Golf “GOLF” H--Hotel “HOH-TELL” I--India “IN-DEE-AH” J--Juliett “JEW-LEE-ETT” K--Kilo “KEE-LOH” L--Lima “LEE-MAH” M--Mike “MIKE” N--November “NO-VEM-BER” O--Oscar “OSS-CAH” P--Papa “PAH-PAH” Q--Quebec “KEH-BECK” R--Romeo “ROW-ME-OH” S--Sierra “SEE-AIR-RAH” T--Tango “TANG-GO” U--Uniform “YOU-NEE-FORM” V--Victor “VIK-TAH” W--Whiskey “WISS-KEY” X--X-ray “ECKS-RAY” Y--Yankee “YANG-KEY” Z--Zulu “ZOO-LOO”

10. Purpose of May 7 drill • To afford communications volunteers from the Community Preparedness Hubs, ACS, MST and other EmComm teams the opportunity to practice emergency communications in a simulated disaster environment. • Conduct the exercise as a “field classroom” providing on site training and mentoring.

11. Objectives • To practice communications within the four established neighborhoods Hub organizations areas e.g. West Seattle, Magnolia/Queen Anne/Interbay , Wallingford and Capitol Hill. • To practice interaction between Hub and ACS teams in the field • To practice 2-way communications between the Emergency Communications Hubs in Seattle neighborhoods and the Seattle EOC as well as the alternate ACS Communications Center at North Seattle Community College • To practice communications between selected Seattle area hospitals and the Seattle EOC

12. Specific Community Objectives • Assess and report condition of the community and its residents. • Communicate between nodes within communities to address problems and share resources • Consolidate information at a central point in the community for coordination and forwarding. • Communicate with the City to report damage and request high priority services. • Receive information from the City and other sources and distribute to the nodes.

13. Description of Exercise • Scenario – A Magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Seattle Fault shakes us hard for 2 minutes Saturday morning at 2:00 AM PDT - It is now 9:00 AM Saturday. • Power is out across the region, many bridges are down, communications systems are broken or overloaded. • The Seattle EOC is activated and Community Hubs are up and operating, Ham radio teams are deployed.

14. May 7 Exercise Structure