EMC254 - Mutual Aid 2000 4/5

When the ACS Region Officer has the necessary authority and mission and incident numbers, the actual tasking is intended to occur via RIMS, just as with law or fire mutual-aid resources. However, few communications units have equivalent experience 

in mutual aid as do fire and law. Therefore if a logistics officer at the incident isn't familiar with ACS or RACES, there can be delays or actual mis-communication. Resort will have to be by telephone or radio. There is a RIMS form in the SEMS data base for ACS mutual aid, but it has not yet been widely used, as few units have RIMS access.

In order for the mutual-aid system to work, the Region ACS Officer needs to know each OA ACS or RACES Officer and their resource potentials for each OA unit in that region. Conversely, IF the OA ACS or RACES unit is to provide (or receive) mutual aid, the following steps need to occur within the local OA:

1. A current ACS or RACES plan must be on file with State OES (or, for Cities, with the County OES). It will state position titles authorized to use the unit in Sec 14 (i.e., mobilization usage) of the standardized Santa Luisa Plan.
   
2. A current list of key officers, and how to reach them, is in the hands of the Region ACS Officer, or, for Cities, with the OA ACS, RACES, or Radio Officer.
   
3. A list of potential resources (general list of equipment and personnel) available for mutual aid is also in the files of the Region ACS Officer, or, for Cities, in the files of the OA ACS, RACES, or Radio Officer. (To aid in that process, there is a standardized description of duties, skills, and abilities by positions that should be part of an OA RO resource package. This material, which is titled, "JOB DESCRIPTION GUIDE FOR ARES/ACS/RACES/VIP EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATIONS," can be obtained from the Region ACS Officer by OA ACS or RACES Officers. It provides an easy-to- use means for the requesting and supplying ACS or RACES Officers to be on a common ground. They also can provide RACES or ACS Officers Handbooks in digital form for California jurisdictions.)
   
4. Local OA officers need current information on how to reach the ACS Region ACS officer at any time. It could be carried by the OA ACS or RACES officer.
   
5. If the OA RO expects that unit to be POSSIBLY involved with ACS or RACES mutual aid, then provide "heads up" information to the Region ACS officer by advising of the situation of that OA. There is a SEMS form for a report for an ACS unit that could be used, but a phone call may be more appropriate at this stage. Where a local unit has NOT arranged access to the RIMS system, it will not see these forms, nor will it access Situation Reports which may contain information NOT in any public report.

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