What is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service

 

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a volunteer organization of amateur radio operators. Since 1935, ARES has provided radio communications in North America in times of need.

 

In these modern times of cellular phones and the Internet, we take instant communications for granted. We forget how fragile our communications systems are. We forget that only one critical piece of communications infrastructure has to fail or become overloaded to render it unusable in times of emergency!

 

 

What does ARES do?

 

ARES provides emergency radio communications:

 

• When the ice storm of1998 blacked out parts of Quebec and Ontario,

• When the city of Houston, Texas was flooded in 2001, knocking out telephone service and emergency power

• When tornadoes struck Edmonton in 1987, overloading the telephone lines and when a massive tornado struck the Pine Lake camp ground in July 2000

• When the threat of Y2K loomed

• And in countless other emergency or disaster situations all over the World

 

Operators within the Amateur Radio Service volunteered their services and equipment for the duration.

 

Every ARES member in Canada is licensed by Industry Canada to own, maintain and operate private radio equipment. We use VHF and UHF radios for local communications, and HF (short wave) radios for province-wide and international communications. We can use the province-wide network of amateur repeater stations, and the amateur-run National Traffic System (NTS), to send emergency messages.

 

ARES and NTS are part of the Field Services Organization of  the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC). RAC is the official national society for Canada which is recognized by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), the organization which links together all the national amateur radio societies in the World.

 

Below find a couple of video's that better illustrate, What is ARES.
All videos requires Windows Media Player

ARES Edmonton Assists with City of Edmonton Flooding

Vector - Vancouver Emergency Community Telecommunications Organization
Linked from www.vector.comm.sfu.ca/

 

Katrina: The Untold Story
Linked from www.emergency-radio.org

 

 

Municipalities and Emergency Agencies

 

Make ARES a part of your emergency plan. When a disaster happens, we can provide extra radio equipment and trained operators, in conjunction with local radio clubs which normally provide emergency infrastructure, such as repeater stations which will operate on emergency power.

 

We do not use or "take over" your communications systems. We offer supplemental communications, using our own equipment on our own frequencies. We can, for example, set up a temporary station at an emergency shelter, to handle health and welfare inquiries.

 

ARES is an official communications provider for the Canadian Red Cross. Emergency Measures Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police and nearer home the City of Edmonton Emergency Operations Centre, also maintains amateur radio stations for emergency use. We also work closely with Environment Canada and the CANWARN severe weather-spotting network.

 

For new Agencies, your local contact is the ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) or the local ARES group. Your local EC or group will be happy to meet with you to explain ARES and discuss your needs. To contact the "ARES Edmonton Region" Group use the 'Email Us' button at the top of the screen.

 

 

Community Organizations

 

We provide communications for public events. If you’re planning a parade, or a walk-a-thon, or any large event, we can provide portable radios and volunteer operators.

 

There is never any charge for our services. This is part of our training as radio operators, and part of our "public service" mission.

Consult with your local ARES Emergency Coordinator or group to discuss your event, and determine your radio need.