Emergency Communications Services

ARES/RACES exists to provide communications services during an emergency, to augment normal channels or as a backup when they fail. We can provide failsafe voice and data communications between the county EOC and DOCs, local jurisdiction EOCs, hospitals and allied health facilities, and tactical field units of all types.

EOC Communications

We provide communications from emergency managers in county and city EOCs to each other and other key facilities and teams. Emergency managers can also gain quick situational awareness from our widely distributed network of radio operators.

Health Care Communications

We provide communications from emergency managers in hospital command centers and allied health facilities to each other, the county Public Health Department, city EOCs, and field sites.

Tactical Field Units

We provide emergency communications for evacuation shelters, points of distribution, fire stations, CERT teams, and many other field units.

Communications Nets

In order to coordinate communications efficiently, we separate them into a number of different “nets” for different sorts of traffic. Different stations will participate in different nets.

SEMS and Mutual Aid

SCCo ARES/RACES follows SEMS principles. Operations are normally staffed by local jurisdiction resources. Mutual aid is requested from the county ARES/RACES organization when local resources are insufficient.

Response Preparation Levels

To make SCCo ARES/RACES operators aware of conditions that may result in activation, we have a defined set of response preparation levels and a communications plan for each.