Linn Co. ARES Telephone Tree

Standard Operating Procedure

Updated August 20, 2006

Summary

1. Call Tree Activator notifies Call Tree Leaders
2. Leaders notify members by alphabetical groups
3. Leaders report status back to Activator

Detailed procedure

1. Notify Call Tree Leaders

The decision to initiate the telephone call tree is made by the EC (or another Amateur) according to the guidelines in the Emergency Operations Plan. The EC then contacts the call tree team leaders and advises them of:

• The nature of the emergency.
• Any special instructions.
• The telephone number or frequency where leaders can report results back to the initiator.

The call tree leader notification assignments are as follows:

       Name             Call      Alphabetical Group (by last name)  
       Ron Breitwisch   KC0OX     (A-C)
       Tom Hess         KD0HF     (D-G)
       Bill Caldwell    N0LNO     (H-L)
       Steve Jones	WA6GFD    (M-Z)
       Doug Beard       KF0VF     (backup)	
       Scott Haney      N0GUD     (backup)
       Rob Lamb         KB9CEF    (backup)

If any of the leaders with a pre-assigned range cannot be contacted, then the backups should be contacted and requested to contact the missing alphabetical range.

2. Notify Members

Each call team leader then notifies individual members in his assigned alphabetical group. If the leader is aware of other Amateurs not on the ARES list that may have special talents to contribute to the emergency (and are within his assigned alphabetical group), he should also contact them. He advises each member of:

• The nature of the Emergency
• Any special instructions.
• Requests them to monitor the 146.745 repeater.

A recommended script is:

Hello.  This is Amateur Radio operator [your name], [your Callsign].  Is this [name called]? 

Amateur Radio assistance (may be/has been) requested in response to a [description of disaster].   Please monitor the 146.745 repeater if you are able to assist. 

3. Report Notification Status

Once an initial attempt has been made to contact all members on his list, each leader should advise the initial call tree activator of the number of members contacted personally contacted, and the number of members where only a message was left. It may also be useful to specifically mention the status of any members with skills critical to the specific emergency. This assessment will determine whether later notification attempts need to be made to achieve the desired response level.

Preparation

Those Amateurs that have volunteered to serve as Telephone Call Tree Leaders should maintain a current list of all Amateurs to be contacted. At a minimum, they should retain one paper copy of the Call Tree List at their residence, and one at their place of employment.  The Call Tree List is available to Planning Committee Members only.

Comments

Comments and suggestions to improve this plan should be communicated to a member of the ARES Planning Committee. This plan was approved by the Planning Committee on 1 October 1998.