SUMTER COUNTY
Amateur Radio Emergency Services Association (ARES)

 Sumter County, Florida

Shelter Deployment for Radio Operators

Types of Shelters (Sumter County)
  • Storm Shelter -higher wind rated (space, food, beverage, rest rooms, medical, security)
    • School - EOC (3 - Webster Elementary*, S. Sumter High*, Wildwood Elementary*)
    • County - EOC (1 - Fairground*)            
    • Municipality (1 - Center Hill)                       *Shelter animals separately at specific location
    • Special Needs - EOC (1 - Wildwood CC)           
  • Non Storm Shelters - Last minute for travelers
  • (space, maybe water, rest rooms, security)
    • College - Lake/Sumter
    • Local Churches - Oxford Assembly of God, Bushnell
    • Charter Schools - Villages Middle, High
    • Recreation Centers, Libraries, etc.
  • After the storm, there may be public buildings such as recreation centers, and churches used as shelters. Schools are returned to their education roles as soon as practical.  Public buildings listed below remain open as needed. 
    • County - EOC (1-Fairground*)
    • Special Needs - EOC (1 - Wildwood CC)            *Shelter animals separately specific location

    Shelter Life Cycle

    1. Shelter Selection includes building wind specs, rest room size, feeding facility, dorm size, staff space, information (TV, bulletin board),
    2. Shelter Designation has building specs recorded, Shelter Manager and staff identified and trained, a shelter plan prepared, and office materials set aside.
    2. Preparation for opening the facility including obtaining food and toiletry supplies, opening inspection, staff notifications, signage
    3. Organizing the facility (Staff arrival - incident commander, police/sheriff , shelter staff, kitchen staff, maintenance/cleaning staff, radio operator; staff sign-in and set up, staff briefing) 
    3. Open the facility (open door, registration, medical review, space assignment within grouping, bring in sleep supplies)
    4. Operating (Meals and food prep, TV & announcements, shift staff briefings, trash handling, rest room cleaning, lights out, smoking area, door control)
    5. Closing the Shelter (removal individual supplies/clothing/bedding, final individual sign-out) 
    6. Clean up, inspection (note damage not found with opening inspection), document retention, return equipment, remove signage, and re-organizing for everyday use.

    Shelter Areas

    1. Resident access door/registration table (Sign-in/Sign-out)
    2. Medical - staffed by a RN or PA to review medical situations referred from registration and situations that may arise for residents
    3. Dorm - resident areas may be divided into multiple categories where the categories range from quiet to noisy across one large room.  These categories may be in one large room or several rooms.   Below is an example:

    • A Elderly (quiet)
    • B. Medically Sensitive
    • C. Adults with service animals
    • D. Adults
    • E. Families with children (moderate noise)
    4. Kitchen/food dispensing/tables, snacks, beverages
    5. Staff quarters - staff sleeping, breaks 
    6. Rest rooms - male
    7. Rest rooms - female
    8. Radio area/room
    9. Information - TV, bulletin board,
    10. Pet area/room if planned for this shelter

    Shelter Staff - All of these may not be at a single shelter

    • Shelter Manager - Incident commander for the shift,
    • Security - Police, Sheriff Deputy, and/or National Guard - keep everyone safe
    • Radio Operator - Backup communications
    • Registration Staff - Initial registration and sign-in and sign-out
    • Medical Team - Address situations from registrations and resident medical problems
    • Kitchen Staff - Prepare and serve meals
    • Maintenance - Unstop toilets, replace light bulbs, roof leaks
    • Cleaning Staff - Clean restrooms, trash cans, and areas as needed
    • Animal Management Team - manage the caged pets

    The ESF 6 Mass Care Shelter Staff may be made of school employees, County employees, CERT members, American Red Cross, and/or National Guard.   The ESF 8 Special Needs Shelter Staff may be made of Florida Public Health employees and Medical Reserve Corp.  

    Deploying to a Shelter

    1. Must have been activated by phone call or email or text
    2. Assignment: To staff First Shift or Later Shift
    3. Driving to Shelter, consider where the roads might be jammed traffic (Turnpike and I-75 North, 301, 441/27 North), with high winds avoid rail yard bridges (44, 301) in Wildwood, and avoid flooding anywhere.
    4. Verbally check with Shelter Manager and get any last minute instructions before unloading
    5. Parking:  Park close for unloading which will be prior to shelter opening.  Then move your vehicle to general parking
    6. Building Access: You may need assistance in gaining access to the building and also the antenna location
    7. Staff/Volunteer Sign-in form:  There are two sign-in sheets be sure that you use the correct one and if you leave the building always sign out.
    8. Gear to Radio Room, set up radio, and test connection.  It should work fine.  Place a phone call if problems.
    9. Start your personal IS-214
    10. Shift Briefing - verbal or written IAP (Incident Action Plan) given by Shelter Manager before opening for residents
    11. Meals - Start at back of line and be respectively to those around you.
    12. Shelter Communications for residents: TV, bulletin board & announcements
    13. Check-in to the Emergency Ops Net (146.925) and a secondary net if asked to monitor on radio. (SARNet, Bushnell repeater, Sumter Info Net, etc.)
    14. The Sumter County School System has an 800 radio net and the Sheriff's Deputy is on a separate 800 radio net so you may be the secondary or tertiary backup system.  The 800 systems will stop working if two microwave antennas get out of alignment.
    15. About 9:30 - 10 PM, the lights will be turned down to promote sleeping.  Sufficient lighting should be available for restroom trips. This is a good time to use your earphones if you haven't been using them.
    16. You may have some residents that take an interest in your equipment or are licensed.  Be interactive with them as they could be a future team mate.  

    Shelter Rules

    • Twenty square feet per resident (rectangle) for general population shelters and sixty square feet per resident for special needs shelter (medical cot and equipment)
    • No smoking in shelter
    • No food or beverage except water in sleeping area
    • Keep noise to appropriate levels
    • Sign in and sign out for residents and staff
    • No drugs or alcohol or hazardous chemicals
    • No weapons; leave in vehicle
    • No pets in dorm (service animals exception) , separate area
    • Lock valuables in your vehicle

    Shelter Radio Operations

    Yaesu FTM-440 Radio (Left) in Gator Case with a power booster (center) and switching power supply (right).  Laptop on center shelf and cables and reference documents on bottom shelf

    • Work with the Shelter Manager and staff plus the assigned Sheriff Deputy
    • Resident and pet counts taken and reported as shelter fills, as requested. The team lead for the registration process should have the latest count.
    • Other counts may be requested on meals served, hygiene kits issued, etc.
    • Request for inventory levels, requests - food, beverages, etc.
    • Continue to document on your FEMA IS-214 form. Start a new one if the shift changes and start a turn-in folder to be submitted upon completion of assignment.
    • There may be the use of IS-213 forms in which case the IS-309 Log must also be used and go into the turn-in folder
    • There might be time periods during the night designated for rest with a check-in, probably, at 0600.
    • Attend staff briefings or if more than one, only one will attend and report or someone who will take notes for you.
    • Notification of shelter closing will be by Operations Net and check with Shelter Manager for further instructions
    • Shut down equipment and pack up
    • Sign out in the Staff list not the Resident list
    • If the radio was loaned, return it, and turn in all documents produced (turn-in folder) to your leader.
    Key Points for the Radio Operator
    • Your are in an important support role that does not put one in charge of anyone but insures that the message/report gets through. 
    • You are the backup to one or more communications systems, when they fail, you are the only one left.
    • Keep radio communications brief.

     Last Update:  07/03/2018    © Copyright Sumter County ARES. All Rights Reserved.