Ares RACES

Personal and Family Preparedness:
For amateur radio Emergency Communications to be effective during disasters, local organizations
must train and plan with their local emergency management. An alerting structure is needed to
identify amateur radio resources, where ever they are, alert them to the impending situation and get
them to where they are needed.

Amateurs in an affected area must take care of their families first. During an incident your family may
need to be prepared for loss of water or AC power for a week or more. If you live in the affected area
you may be unable to help with communications until your family has been safely evacuated or
sheltered.

It is necessary for RACES members statewide to be trained, prepared and ready, so that they may
deploy to help surrounding communities in need.

The American tradition of neighbors helping each other is the foundation of Mutual Aid compacts used
nationwide. Multi-jurisdictional planning and standardized training that goes beyond the city or county
to the entire District is essential. That way Emergency Managers know that everyone understands
how the Emergency Plan works and is reading from the same sheet of music.

Training:
Don't wait until the last minute to complete your required training. FEMA courses IS-22, IS-100,
IS-700 MUST be completed before September 30th, 2006 if you wish to participate in ARES/RACES
activities.

Emergency Grab and go bag:
Have a bag but no idea as to what to put in it? Well, as to what to carry, everyone has an opinion
but a good rule of thumb is to be prepared for 72 hrs without support. But remember that you will
need to carry it so "less is more" in this case. Check the side bar for link to some suggestions.