Philadelphia ARES Glossary

Funnel Cloud - A rotating cone-shaped column of air extending downward from the base of a thunderstorm, but not in contact with the ground. Not a tornado.

Fusion Center - Facility that brings together into one central location law enforcement, intelligence, emergency management, public health, and other agencies including NGO's

Hazardous Chemical - Any chemical which is a physical or health hazard.

HazMat - Hazardous Materials (substances which are a physical or health hazard)

Health and Welfare Traffic - Messages about the well being of individuals in a disaster area.

Helibase - A location within the general incident area for parking, fueling, maintenance and loading of helicopters.

Helispot - A location where a helicopter can take off and land.

Hot Zone -The area immediately around the incident site. Appropriate protective clothing and equipment must be worn by all personnel in the Hot Zone. Awareness Level and Operational Level trained personnel are not permitted in the Hot Zone.

Hurricane - A severe tropical cyclone with sustained wind speeds in excess of 74 mph.

Hurricane Season - In the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico runs from June 1 to November 30.

Incident - An occurrence or event, either human caused or natural phenomena, that requires action by emergency service personnel to prevent or minimize loss of life or damage to property and or natural resources.

Incident Command Post - That location at which the primary command functions are executed.

Incident Commander - The individual responsible for the management of all incident operations.

Incident Communication Center - The location of the Communications Unit and the Message Center.

Informal (Tactical) Messages - Brief verbal or informal written messages, intended for direct and immediate delivery.

Irritant - A substance that causes a reversible inflammatory response.

Jurisdiction - A range or sphere of authority.

Landline - Telephone communication (not cellular)

Legal Responsible Authority - The official and/or agency having legal responsibility for the emergency response to a SAR or disaster incident.

Liaison Station - A station responsible for passing messages between different nets.

Message Center - The Message Center is part of the Incident Communications Center and is collocated or placed adjacent to it. It receives, records, and routes information about resources reporting to the incident, resource status, and administrative and tactical traffic.

Net - A group of stations who gather on one frequency, with a common purpose. The net provides a structure and organization to allow an orderly flow of messages.

Net Control Station (NCS) - The station in charge of the net and directing the flow of messages and general communications.

Pass - to send messages from one station to another.

Pathogen - Any agent or organism that can cause disease.

Phonetic Alphabet - Standard words used on voice modes to make it easier to understand letters of the alphabet.

Placard - A sign or symbol designed to be hung on a container or vehicle containing warning information to convey the level of hazard.

Priority traffic - Emergency-related messages, but not as important as Emergency traffic.

Protocol - A set of established guidelines for actions under various specified conditions.

Relay Station - Station responsible for passing messages between two stations on a net that cannot hear each other.

Resources - All personnel and major items of equipment available, or potentially available, for assignment to incident tasks on which status is maintained.

Saffir-Simpson Scale - Provides an indication of hurricane strength based on wind speed - Catagories 1-5

Shelter in Place - Protect people without evacuating by keeping them inside a building with windows and doors closed and external ventilation systems shut off until a hazardous situation has resolved.

SKYWARN - Trained, volunteer, severe weather observers, reporting observations to the NWS.

Staging Area - That location where incident personnel and equipment gather and are assigned.

Stat - Emergency - Do it now.

Strike Team - Specified combinations of the same kind and type of resources, with common communication and a leader.

Storm Surge - An abnormal rise of the sea along a shore as a result, primarily, of the high winds in a land falling storm.

Tactical (Informat) Messages - Brief verbal or informal written messages, intended for direct and immediate delivery.

Task Force - A combination of mixed resources, with common communication and a leader.

Terrorism - The unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or social objectives.

Third Party Traffic - Messages transmitted on behalf of a person or organization other than a licensed Amateur Radio operator. Also applies to when a person other than a licensed operator is allowed to use the microphone.

Topographical Map (Topo Map) - A map used for search (usually 1:24,000) which shows physical features of a region and allows a certified search manager to deploy resources accordingly.

Tornado - A violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm, in direct contact with the ground.

Toxic Materials - A type of chemical that can cause chemical harm at an incident scene. They produce harmful effects depending on the concentration of the materials and the length of exposure to them. An individual can have chronic or acute exposures to toxic materials.

Traffic - Messages passed via radio communication. (spoken or digital), usually formal, written messages. More generally, any messages or activity on a particular frequency.

Triage - Sorting out the wounded at a major incident so that the most serious cases are treated first.

Unified Command - A method for all agencies or individuals who have jurisdictional responsibility at the incident, to contribute to determining overall objectives for the incident and selection of a strategy to achieve the objectives.

Volatile - Easily changes from a liquid to a vapor.

Warning - The severe weather event is imminent or occurring in the warned area. Warnings are for relatively small geographic areas, such as single or small groups of adjacent counties.

Watch - Conditions are favorable for severe weather in or near the watch area. Watches are for relatively large geographic areas, such as portions of or multiple states.
NOTE: The time frames of "watchs" and "warnings" are weather event specific, i.e.: a tornado watch is a shorter period of time than a hurricane watch.

ZULU - Time (usually military) - see UTC

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Acronym's, Abbreviations, and Glossary related to emergency radio communications.

GLOSSARY

Acronym's, Abbreviations, and Glossary
related to emergency radio communications.