What is a base station Radio?

Base station radios are located in fixed positions, such as public safety answering points or dispatch centers, and tend to have the most powerful transmitters. A network is required to connect the different base stations to the same communications system.

What is an in-building emergency responder Communications Enhancement System (Erces)?

An In-Building Emergency Responder Communications Enhancement System (ERCES) is a wireless communications system used by first responder and emergency services personnel, such as police, fire, emergency medical, homeland security, and disaster response agencies.

What frequencies do public safety agencies use?

For many years, public safety agencies utilized bands of frequencies, in the VHF and UHF parts of the spectrum. These frequencies are allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for communication between fixed base stations and land mobile vehicle-mounted and portable transceivers.

How do emergency response groups communicate?

Instead, each CERT and jurisdictional office of emergency management has its own protocols for how emergency response groups coordinate communication. This is called a communications plan, and it defines who talks to whom.

How do CERT volunteers communicate with other emergency response agencies?

CERT volunteers act as the “eyes and ears” for other emergency response agencies by communicating through the ICS. A communications plan defines how different levels communicate during an emergency response situation. Different communications modes have different advantages and limitations during an activation.

What is emergency communications?

Emergency communications is a system of coordinating people and transmitting information to first responders during an emergency. Emergency communications includes: Describe the importance of communications in emergency response. Describe the role of CERT in communications during an activation. Describe how to use a communications plan.