The Central Oregon Coast Amateur Radio Club supports an Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group in West Lane County. The ARES group consists of a subset of club members who have dedicated their time and equipment to provide essential communications for situations in which normal communications (telephone, cell phone, internet) have been disrupted.
ARES is a program of the Field Services Division of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and consists of licensed amateurs throughout the country who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL, is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Membership in the Central Oregon Coast Amateur Radio Club is encouraged but not required.
In Florence, ARES members are fully integrated into the emergency management community, and may serve at the ARES stations in the Police Department Emergency Communications Center and/or the Fire Department Emergency Operations Center. Access to these controlled areas requires fingerprinting and a background check. Applicants should have no conflicting responsibilities with other emergency response organizations.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service goes beyond the hobby aspect of amateur radio. Members attend regularly scheduled ARES emergency training meetings and exercises, and are available for emergency communications duty.
For more Local ARES/RACES information, please contact:
Chris - N7GYL -- West Lane County ARES Emergency Coordinator.
email: sranchchris@gmail.com.