Seattle ACS

Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service is an emergency communications team of approximately 150 trained volunteers serving the City of Seattle, sponsored by the Seattle Office of Emergency Management and has been in operation since 1993. Team members are licensed amateur radio operators and registered state emergency workers. Seattle ACS mission... is to provide communications support to the city of Seattle in times of disaster and emergency. To that end, ACS: provides communications links between the Citys emergency operations center and neighborhoods, supporting Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) Teams, CERT and Communication HUBs; serves as an EOC support team to assist with AV, Plans, Operations and Administrative functions during activations; provides communications support to City departments and partner agencies; and provides communications support for the Citys field response and recovery operations. National Authority. Seattle ACS is a Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) organization; its operations are included in DHS/FEMA and FCC National Disaster Communications Plans which specify Auxiliary Communications (AUXCOMM) standard practices, overseen by the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC). RACES is a specific part of the amateur radio operations sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). RACES was primarily created to provide emergency communications for civil defense preparedness agencies and is governed in the 47 CFR 97.407 . Today, as in the past, RACES is employed during a variety of emergency and disaster situations where normal governmental communications systems have sustained damage or when additional communications are required or desired. Situations where RACES can be used include: natural disasters, technological disasters, terrorist incidents, civil disorder, and nuclear/chemical incidents or attack. Local Authority. The Seattle ACS mission and organization is referenced in the Seattle Readiness and Response Plan. The Director of the Seattle ...Read More