standard operating procedure - west virginia policy.pdf · west virginia statewide interoperable...

West Virginia Statewide Interoperable Radio Network Standard Operating Procedures & Guidelines, For Official Use Only (FOUO)

Table of Contents

1. Changes Made Page 1

2. Introduction/Purpose Page 1

3. Definitions Page 1

4. Talkgroup Activation Page 1

5. Radio Activation Page 2

6. Talkgroup Use and Restriction Page 3

7. Plain Language Page 6

8. Emergency Button Operation Page 6

9. Encryption Page 7

10. Regional Channel Use Page 8

11. Reporting System Issues Page 9

12. Cache Radio Equipment

1.

Page 9

13. COML & COMT Requests Page 10

14. Medical Command Channel Use Page 10

15. National Interoperability Channels Page 11

16. Direct Connect Consoles Page 13

17. Broadcast Paging Talkgroup Page 14

1. Changes Made

a. Any changes to this policy will be noted here;

1. Policy Consolidation 6/13/2017

2. Added to section 4, section h (Vendor Talkgroups) 10/17/2017

3. Added to section 5, section j (Vendor Radio ID Activations) 10/17/2017

4. Clarified section 6.a.i (Talkgroup Use) 4/10/2018

5. New Section 16 (Direct Connect Consoles) 4/10/2018

6. New Section 17 (Paging Talkgroup) 4/10/2018

2. Introduction/Purpose

In an effort to make information easier to find and understand the SIEC has consolidated several previously released policies into fewer and more concise documents. This Operations Policy gives details on how to program and use the SIRN, as well as reference information and recommendations for better use.

3. Definitions All definitions are located in the “Definitions” document located on the SIRN Website at www.sirn.wv.gov

4. Talkgroup Activation a. Each West Virginia County accepted as a participating entity will have the following talkgroups available

on the system; known as a county “Standard Talkgroups”, see Appendix A for a quick reference spreadsheet:

i. Dispatch Talkgroups - Law (Police), Fire, EMS

Standard Operating Procedure

Title / Subject

Operations References/Updates:

This policy combines all or part of the following policies; Subscriber Unit Programming, Regional Channel Use, Plain Language, Radio & Talkgroup Activation, Emergency Button Operation, Encryption, Pursuit, Shared Channel, System Issue, Cache Radios


ii. Event Talkgroups – Event (1-4), Talk (1-2), Hail iii. Local Government Talkgroups – EMA, Board of Education (1-4), Local Government, County

Government and Health Department (1-2) iv. Private Talkgroups – Law (Police), Fire, EMS, EMA, Task Force v. Secure Tactical Talkgroups – Secure Tac (1-2)

vi. Tactical Talkgroups – Police Tac (1-2), Tac (1-4), Task Force and Regroup (1-2) b. State, Federal or non-typical agencies will have standard talkgroups assigned based on their needs and

as approved by the SIEC when making application. c. Each participating agency will have a basic site profile where their Standard or Additional Talkgroups are

valid based on their needs. i. County talkgroups will normally be active on all sites within the county and one site outside the

county as resources permit. ii. State, Federal or non-typical users will have their area of operation determined by the SIEC when

making application. d. Requests for talkgroups to be active on additional sites or under special circumstances will be reviewed

by the SIRN Technical Committee. e. The jurisdictional POC may submit a request to the SIRN system administrator(s) for one private

talkgroup for each participating agency under their jurisdictional umbrella. f. The jurisdictional POC may submit a request to the SWIC for:

i. Additional talkgroups under their standard site profile that meet departmental or agency operational needs for Dispatch or Tactical Operations.

ii. The SIRN Technical Committee will review the request for additional talkgroups. g. No talkgroups will be added to the system for agencies that are not currently listed as participants. The

current list of participants can be found under “Participation” on the SIRN website. h. There will be made available upon request to the SWIC a single talkgroup for use by Manufacturers to

use to demonstrate their equipment, provided: i. The Manufacturer must have at least one radio listed on the Approved Equipment List for SIRN

ii. Any radio that the talkgroup programmed into must be listed on the Approved Equipment List for SIRN

iii. Use outside of these restrictions may result in the talkgroup being deactivated and not being reactivated.

5. Radio Activation a. All requests for radio activation on the system must include the following information:

i. Radio ID ii. Serial Number

iii. Radio Make iv. Radio Model v. Radio Alias (If none provided, Radio ID will be utilized.)

vi. Issued Agency vii. Activation requests shall be made in writing to the SIRN system administrator(s), unless exigent

circumstances exist. b. All requests for activation of Radio IDs must be from a jurisdictional POC. c. Only radios listed on the SIRN Approved Equipment List will be activated for operation on the SIRN.

i. An exception to this section shall be granted by the SIEC for radios submitted to the SIEC by manufacturers for evaluation by the SIRN’s Technical Committee designee(s) for their approval of operation on the SIRN.

d. Radios shall not be activated for any agency that has not been approved by the SIEC as a participating agency.

e. Agencies may have a limited number of ID’s active in the system for emergency or testing purposes. i. Generally this is limited to a total of five ID’s.

ii. If more than five ID’s are needed, a request shall be submitted to the SWIC in writing outlining


the quantity needed and justification for the request. f. Deactivation of Radio ID’s

i. When any radio is transferred, sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of, the programmer of the equipment shall remove all programming pertaining to SIRN from the radio if possible and return the radio as close as possible to a “Factory Default” condition, and shall report same to the Jurisdictional POC.

1. The Jurisdictional POC shall report such incidents to the SIRN system administrators so the Radio ID can be deactivated in the system.

g. Under an emergency situation where the radio is believed to be compromised, a Jurisdictional POC shall: i. Notify the SWIC and SIRN system administrator of the circumstances of the incident and the

following information: 1. Agency radio is assigned to 2. Radio ID 3. Radio Make and Model 4. Radio Serial Number

ii. The SIRN system administrators shall deactivate the radio remotely, as well as attempt to track to radio to see if it becomes active.

h. Personally Owned Radio Activation/Deactivation i. See Personally Owned Radios in the Administration Policy

i. Traded, Sold or Transferred Radios i. All radios traded, sold, decommissioned or otherwise transferred must be reported to the system

administrator to have the radio deactivated and have the programming reverted to default programming.

1. Failure to do so may result in the agency being prohibited from further activations or have their participation revoked

j. Upon request to the SWIC each manufacturer may have up to 6 radios ID’s activated for equipment demonstration purposes.

i. These radio ID’s will not be required to submit radio specific information for activation, however the radios used with these ID’s must be on the Approved Equipment List.

ii. These ID’s shall not be used for operational use, business purposes or any other use other than equipment demonstration.

iii. Use outside of the intended purpose may result in the radio ID’s and potentially the demonstration talkgroup being deactivated.

iv. These talkgroups may be shared with agencies to test equipment for proper operation within their agency.

6. Talkgroup Use and Restriction a. Dispatch talkgroups shall be programmed into radios of a like discipline.

i. Primary Dispatch Talkgroups shall be made available to agencies of similar discipline for interoperability purposes, notwithstanding any other section of SIEC Policy. No special permissions will be required for Primary Dispatch Talkgroups.

b. Law enforcement dispatch may only be programmed into other law enforcement radios. c. Fire and EMS dispatch talkgroups may be programmed into radios of like discipline, or shared with other

disciplines by written permission granted by all affected agency heads or county point of contact. d. No dispatch talkgroups shall be encrypted. e. Agency private talkgroups/channels may only be programmed into radios owned by the named

talkgroup owner agency. i. Programming of private talkgroups from disciplines other than the assigned owner of the

talkgroup to a radio may be explicitly granted by written form by the department heads, after being agreed upon by all affected agencies.

ii. Agency private talkgroups may be encrypted at the discretion of the “owner” in accordance with the encryption policy.


f. Tactical and Event talkgroups may be authorized for use at the discretion of the county point of contact. i. It is desirable for each county discipline (i.e. Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS) to have common

tactical and/or event talkgroups to be shared for interoperability purposes. g. All potential system issues shall be directed to the SWIC and the SIRN Technical Committee who are to

be involved in the attempt to resolve the potential issues. h. All programmers must follow the approved technical standards as set by the SIEC. i. Testing may be performed with settings as long as the values do not interfere with system operation. j. Channel naming should follow guidelines of the SIRN; see Appendix 1 for more details. Many users are

not aware that channels are capable of talking to each other if the names are not exactly the same. k. Talkgroup Use shall not be assumed, written permission to use a talkgroup of another is strictly required

and enforced. i. This permission must come from the primary POC; not everyone can grant permission for use.

l. While talkgroup use shall not be assumed, certain agencies have permitted restricted special use without individual written permission. Use of these talkgroups cannot be used by anyone or for any other purpose than is listed without written permission.

i. SOS Channel – Emergency channel valid statewide. It is monitored by multiple agencies. Though monitored, this channel only provides the ability for a dispatch center to know that an emergency has occurred, but does NOT provide any location information for the monitoring station. This channel is valid for any radio discipline. See the SOS Channel policy section below for specific requirements on programming.

ii. Dynamic Regroup – This channel is controlled by the System Operator and allows for a defined group of radios to be “pushed” to a common channel. This channel must be in each radio one time. This channel is valid for any radio discipline.

iii. DHSEM 1 & DHSEM 2 – These channels are monitored 24/7 by the WV Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. This will allow direct communications with the state EOC. These channels are valid for Emergency Management, 911 Centers and State or Federal Agencies that must coordinate with the state EOC.

iv. BSA – The 64 Channels identified as BSA Talkgroups will be used to operate the BSA events. BSA 01-32 are for BSA operations and BSA 33-64 are for Public Safety operations. Some talkgroups are local to the BSA reserve and some are wide area. The specific use will be assigned as needed and communicated accordingly. These are to be broken into 4 zones of 16 talkgroups and titled BSAA, BSAB, BSAC, BSAD. The channels should be labeled BSA 01 thru BSA 64. These talkgroups can be placed in any radio with channel capacity however public safety radios should have BSA 33-64 if the radios have limited channel capacity.

v. DOT – The talkgroup DOT-3, which is the Traffic Management Center talkgroup, is used to communicate with DOT/DOH units as well as the Traffic Management Center (TMC). This channel is valid for Emergency Management Administrative Staff, 911 Center and EOC only.

vi. Turnpike – The “Turnpike General” (TP General) talkgroup is used for units to talk to the Turnpike Control Center to coordinate operations. This talkgroup is valid in radios that border the Turnpike and/or Evacuation Routes that are assigned to Emergency Management Administrative Staff, 911 Center, EOC and Mobile Operations Units only.

vii. State Police – These talkgroups are to be used to communicate with the WV State Police Dispatch and State Police units. Primary dispatch talkgroups are valid for Law Enforcement Units and 911 Centers Only.

viii. DNR – These are used to communicate with the WVDNR dispatch and field units for interagency response. These are valid for Law Enforcement, 911 Centers; this is for the primary dispatch talkgroups only.

ix. DOC – These talkgroups are used to communicate with the WVDOC dispatch centers, facilities and field units for interagency response. They are valid for Law Enforcement, 911 Centers; this is for the primary dispatch talkgroups of each facility and for the statewide dispatch talkgroup.

x. National Guard – These channels are used to communicate with the WV National Guard to


coordinate details and makes requests to the JOC. They are valid for 911 Centers, Emergency Management and certain others as needed to fulfill missions. Contact the WV National Guard Communications Section for specific use authorization.

xi. Agriculture – The WV Department of Agriculture permits the use of their DOA-1 talkgroup as needed for coordination with them on details and functions. They are valid for 911 Centers and Emergency Management.

xii. 911 Talkgroups – These are used to contact the various 911 centers around the state. They are valid statewide. They can be put into any radio discipline. Use restrictions are as follows;

1. Not intended for day to day dispatch operations 2. Can be used by units traveling outside of the county for official purposes 3. Can be used to contact another county for assistance 4. Each county should monitor the 911 talkgroup assigned to their coverage area 5. Can be used for 911 center to 911 center coordination and call passing 6. Is not to be used as a Talk or Tac channel, Official Use Only

xiii. Regional Channels, see regional channel policy section in this document m. The programming of the above channels are permitted in Approved Mobile Operations Units and

Approved Cache Radios as long as the intended use and assignment is followed. i. Classification as an Approved Mobile Operations Unit and/or Approved Radio Cache will be

determined by the local region RIC Chairperson with consultation of the SWIC. ii. Mobile Operations Units should be government owned and operated and used for multiagency

communications coordination on a regular basis. iii. Once Approved as a Mobile Operations Unit or Radio Cache, the details shall be entered into

the DHSEM E-Team Program, following the guidelines established in the policy and DHSEM. n. Statewide S.O.S. Assistance Talkgroup

i. It is recommended to be programmed into all radios deployed on the SIRN. 1. It is important to make sure that users are aware that the S.O.S. Assistance talkgroup

should not be confused with the pressing of the orange man-down assistance button. 2. The SOS Talkgroup shall not be programmed as the revert talkgroup for emergency

button press; see below for more information on Emergency Button Press. ii. This talkgroup shall not be programmed with any type of encryption.

iii. Monitoring stations are strategically placed through-out the three SIRN zones. These stations monitor the S.O.S. Assistance talkgroup on a 24 hour basis.

iv. Programming of the S.O.S. Assistance talkgroup should be programmed with the display name of SOS or S.O.S.

o. Pursuit Channel Use i. General Statements – This section has been developed to establish some general guidelines as

follows; 1. A process and general guideline for use during a vehicle pursuit that crosses general

county or jurisdictional boundaries 2. A communications plan that will provide the best possible radio coverage to units

involved in a pursuit 3. Assist 911 Centers, Law Enforcement and Radio Programmers in making a standard

process that is understood throughout the state 4. This guideline will not replace department or agency policies about being involved in a

pursuit. 5. This guideline is designed to standardize the communications aspect of a pursuit. 6. This guideline will be based on the SIRN, agencies that do not have capability to use the

SIRN should work with their 911 Center, Communications Officer and the RIC to establish a process for their agency.

7. These channels are valid statewide and there are primarily 2 northern talkgroups (Zone 1 & 3) and 2 southern talkgroups (Zone 2) for use during multiagency law enforcement


pursuits. Care should be taken when using these in that they are not already in use by another agency. These should be programmed into all Law Enforcement radios and 911 centers ONLY.

ii. 911 Center Responsibility 1. Prior to beginning operation of a plan that uses the dedicated pursuit channels the

county 911 center shall have the ability to receive and transmit on at least the 2 talkgroups for their area.

a. Note that using a radio with multiple channels is acceptable iii. Law Enforcement Agency Responsibility

1. Each agency should revise their pursuit policy and training to include this document and other PURSUIT channel guidelines and to address the need for multi agency communications during a pursuit that crosses between jurisdictional boundaries.

2. Upon meeting the criteria established in department policy to declare a pursuit the unit initiating the pursuit should notify their primary dispatch center on their primary dispatch channel of the pursuit giving as much detail as possible and following local policy

3. For a pursuit that crosses or has the potential to cross county boundaries the unit(s) involved should notify their primary dispatch that they are potentially leaving the county and request a move to the PURSUIT channel. Once approved the units will change to the initial pursuit channel.

a. It is highly recommended that a single press or direct channel button be programmed, to allow the users to switch channels simply.

b. Should the primary pursuit channel be in use, the alternate channel should be used.

i. It is not recommended that more than one pursuit be handled on a single channel at a time.

iv. Once the event has stabilized a coordinated switch back to normal operations shall be made in coordination with the 911 center, units involved and supervisors.

p. Improper use of any talkgroup may result in the deactivation of certain radios, talkgroups up to and including the deactivation of all radio and talkgroups for a particular jurisdiction, without notice! This is done to protect the safety of other users and the integrity of the system in general.

7. Plain Language a. The SIRN encourages the use of Plain Language for all operations on SIRN (day to day operations.)

i. This Plain Language is based on the Federal NIMS Guidelines. b. The SIRN requires the use of Plain Language for all operations between agencies and for interoperability

purposes on shared or regional channels. c. Additional Notes

i. The use of 10-4 to acknowledge a transmission can continue. This 10 code has been deemed universal and should not cause any problems during inter/intra-agency communications.

ii. All other radio communications will be conducted using plain Language while maintaining brevity and professionalism on the radio.

iii. Professional tone of voice and communications will be utilized at all times. The use of jargon and/or slang terms to include abbreviations will not be used.

8. Emergency Button Operations a. Special Notes

i. Currently emergency button presses on the SIRN are not capable of providing GPS coordinates to a dispatch center. While some radio manufacturers may have this feature within certain radios, it is currently not available on the SIRN. Users should be made aware of this and not give a false sense of the information sent or not sent by an emergency button press.

ii. The SIRN system, as well as receiving radios or consoles only receive the Radio ID or the Alias


put in the system when a properly programmed emergency button is pressed. It is imperative that proper accountability of radio assignments to end users, specifically as to who a specific radio (Radio ID) is assigned to is maintained. If an emergency button is programmed properly and the end user pushes it when needing assistance, that user can only be identified through accurate accountability of who each radio ID is assigned to.

b. Radio Programming Information i. Two types of emergency activation are possible in most radios, careful planning should be made

to determine what best meets the need of the users. 1. Revert – This means the radio will always send the emergency signal on a set talkgroup. 2. Tactical/Selected – This means the radio will send the emergency signal on the channel

that radio has selected. ii. The talkgroup number 1 (which is the default value for some radios) cannot be used; it is not a

valid talkgroup. iii. Unless the agency has policy and procedures and appropriate equipment in place to receive an

emergency button press, the feature should be disabled in the radio programming. c. The Orange button on some radios should only be used for emergency button operation.

i. Making another button the emergency button or using the orange button for something other than the emergency button can create confusion and result in false emergency presses.

ii. If the feature is not used, the button should be left unprogrammed. d. Console Operations

i. Direct Connect – Direct Connect Consoles (Such as the MCC7500) have the ability to receive emergency alerts. Consideration should be given when programming the consoles to program buttons to acknowledge and clear the emergency, how the emergency will affect the console and what channels should be monitored for emergencies. Your installer/programmer should be able to provide guidance and training on this feature.

ii. Radio Connect – Since radio connect consoles have various configurations, here are a few things to confirm before deploying emergency button operations.

1. Can the radios you use receive an emergency? 2. Can the consoles you use decode or display the emergency? 3. Do you have a method to continuously monitor for emergencies?

e. Talkgroup Use i. Revert Talkgroup – The recommended method for local and county agencies desiring to use the

emergency feature is to request the creation of an EMERGENCY ONLY talkgroup. This will get the emergency off of dispatch channels and have a single revert channel for all to follow.

ii. Restricted Talkgroups – The following talkgroups shall not be used for emergency button operations:

1. County 911 Talkgroup 2. Statewide SOS Talkgroup 3. Any Regional Talkgroup 4. Any Medical Command Talkgroups 5. Any Talkgroup assigned to another agency, unless written permission is granted

f. Primary Dispatch Talkgroups i. The use of Primary Dispatch Talkgroups is highly discouraged as a place for emergency button

operation. The emergency signal, open mic, etc. can prevent dispatching help in a time of need. Accidental presses or equipment malfunctions could also “tie up” the channel for extended time periods.

g. Requirements i. Plan

1. Prior to programming and using an emergency button, a participating agency or umbrella agency should have a detailed plan to handle the emergency activation including:


a. Talkgroup for the emergency button activation b. Monitoring method c. Good radio assignment lists d. Procedure to handle the activation e. Training in the use and expectations for the users

9. Encryption a. Encryption Group Types

i. Local Use/Agency Use – Each participating agency or their umbrella agency will determine the need for and the configuration of encryption for internal purposes. The type of encryption will also be determined with this local planning. There are CKR’s reserved for local/internal use. Sharing of these local/agency encryption channels will be determined by the participating agency or umbrella agency, keep in mind technological limitations of some encryption.

ii. Regional Use – RIC regions will be used for the purposes of regional encryption. Regional encryption standards will be determined by the RIC pertaining to the type of encryption and key management. The regional Task Force and Regional SECTAC talkgroup can be encrypted; all other regional talkgroups may not be encrypted. Regional SECTAC will require encryption.

iii. Statewide Use – For Statewide use encryption AES-256 is required. State agencies may designate CKR(s) for use on a statewide basis. Keeping with the allotment for each discipline. Management of the Keys will be up to the registered owner of the CKR.

b. Any agency that desires to use a CKR in the allotment for statewide use must make that request with the SIEC Technical Committee to alleviate any conflicts. The SWIC will maintain a list of the assigned CKR’s.

c. Dispatch Channels are not permitted to be encrypted in anyway. However a Dispatch Center is permitted to have secondary talkgroups available for transmitting information in a secure transmission.

d. Secure(Strapped) v. Selectable – While there are many programming methods for encryption it is the recommendation of the Technical Committee that radio channels be programmed either “Clear”/not encrypted or “Secure” /encrypted and not program a method for the user to enable or disable encryption on a channel. This will prevent missing of communications or transmitting clear when the user should be secure. The option to enable or disable encryption is not prohibited; however careful planning and consideration should be made before programming this feature. Also note some talkgroups will not work unless encryption is enabled (i.e. SECTAC).

e. Allotted CKR Assignments (See Attached Table, Appendix B) f. Table Explanation

i. Start/End – CKR values are reserved in blocks for certain uses, this is the first and last in the block.

ii. User – This is the general intended user of the block of values. iii. Description – More detailed information of the intended and permitted use. iv. Encryption – The type of encryption permitted v. AES – AES-256 type encryption

vi. APD – ADP (RC4) type encryption vii. ANY – Can use any type as determined by the agency

viii. REG – The RIC will set the standard for these g. There is no requirement to include all encryption CKR’s within programming, only the ones used or

intended to be used should be included in programming. h. Special Shared CKR’s

i. CKR 1 – 8, while not reserved these are the spaces used by ADP type encryption in some radios ii. CKR 1 - 20 may be used for Federal interoperability

iii. CKR-30, Reserved for Local/County and State agencies to share an encrypted channel with the State Police

iv. CKR-99, Designated for any public safety agency to include in a radio, must be AES-256, can be used with multiple talkgroups and Keyloading would be as needed

10. Regional Channel Use


a. The SIEC has established a group of available talkgroups for use at planned or emergency events as needed for interoperability purposes. This policy section will give details on the intended use of these channels.

b. The regional talkgroups are divided into 8 separate radio regions. See the SIRN website for the Radio Region Map

i. Agencies should use the radio regional channels for the location of the event c. Requesting Regional Channel Use

i. All regional channel use will be coordinated by the RIC Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson for the region

ii. RIC Chairpersons will keep record of the planned use of regional channels and coordinate the use as to avoid conflicts.

iii. In an emergency it is not required to wait for the RIC Chairperson to approve use, provided no interference with other events occurs.

iv. The RIC Chairperson will notify the SWIC of all Regional Channel use 1. The SWIC will coordinate cross boundary use and assist with statewide events

d. General Use i. Unit Identification - Announce your home agency prior to announcing your unit identifier during

interoperable communications on a regional talkgroup. I.E. Wyoming Sheriff 1 to State Police 1 ii. Encryption – No Regional Channel shall be encrypted, except as listed in the Encryption section

of this policy. iii. Monitoring Regional Talkgroups – 911 Centers, Dispatch Centers, EOC, etc. may monitor

Regional Channels as needed, however during use the Incident Commander shall coordinate monitoring to ensure safe and efficient use.

iv. See Appendix C for Regional Channel Zone Layouts. e. Programming

i. All regional TAC, Talk and Command talkgroups can be included in any discipline’s radios ii. Regional Discipline Specific Channels can be included in radios of similar discipline and have the

same use and restrictions as other discipline specific talkgroups iii. Regional Channels for the home region shall be included in each radio, including at least the 10

TAC, 2 Talk and Command Talkgroups and the discipline specific talkgroup(s) as appropriate iv. It is recommended that if channel capacity is available in radios that all 8 radio regions be added

to the radio 11. Reporting System Issues

a. Field Users, Issue Reporting – All field users should report issues or trouble including unexpected “Out of Range”, unexpected “No Comms”, and/or any “Site Trunking” to their primary dispatch center.

i. For agencies without a dispatch center, the user may contact the call center directly. b. Dispatch Centers, Issue Reporting – Any dispatch center receiving reports from field users or observing

unexpected operations should report such issues to the call center as soon as possible. c. Reporting process

i. SIRN Radio using the RADIO TECH 1 Talkgroup (See the Talkgroup use section for use requirements), or Telephone 1-866-767-2346 (Primary), 304-558-5380 (Secondary)

1. Provide as much detail on the issue, location, symptoms, known issues, power outages, current weather conditions and any issues with equipment in a common location.

a. Issues associated with subscriber equipment (mobiles/portables) shall NOT be reported to the call center and should be reported following local or agency policy for equipment trouble. This includes battery issues, antenna issues, programming issues, inability to operate assigned equipment and general questions

12. Cache Radio Equipment a. Basic Requirements

i. Must be available for deployment for planned or emergency events


1. Equipment permanently affixed to vehicles, buildings, etc. is not considered a Cache, this should be reported as capabilities of the location or mobile equipment

ii. For the purpose of this section the equipment must be compatible and approved by the SIRN, however equipment not meeting this requirement i.e. VHF, Low Band, 800, etc. can be entered into E-Team and could be used if needed.

iii. Cache Radio Equipment must be listed in E-Team, following current guidelines. 1. Entry should only be made once, by the cache owner or county Emergency

Management Office of the cache owner. 2. It is the responsibility of the entering agency to maintain current availability and

location of the equipment. iv. All Cache Radios should follow all policies and procedures for proper programming.

1. Field reprogramming of cache radios should only be done with consent of the cache owner. Programmer certification can be revoked for improperly programming cache radios.

v. Nothing in this policy is intended to prevent local use of local assets as needed, however proper accountability and status is required so that requests for use can be filled in a timely manner.

b. Cache Radio Request i. In general cache radio equipment should be requested in the following method;

1. Local Cache (Internal to Agency, In-County Agency) a. The Request should follow internal policies for agency owned and controlled

cache equipment, provided; i. Any Cache that has been listed in E-Team as an available resource for

deployment, use should be reported to the County Emergency Manager who will keep the availability of the equipment updated in E-Team.

b. Other Agency, In-County, requests should be requested through the county established protocol at the county level, provided;

i. Any Cache that has been listed in E-Team as an available resource for deployment, use should be reported to the County Emergency Manager who will keep the availability of the equipment updated in E-Team.

2. Regional Cache or Outside of the County Cache a. Requests for all cache equipment from outside the home county should be

requested through the home county Emergency Management Office. i. If the region or group of counties has an agreement to loan equipment

as needed, those guidelines should be followed, provided; 1. Any Cache that has been listed in E-Team as an available

resource for deployment, use should be reported to the County Emergency Manager who will keep the availability of the equipment updated in E-Team.

ii. If the home county EM Office is unable to fill a request an entry into E-Team, following current guidelines provided by DHSEM. See the section below for the process followed after the request if entered into E-Team.

3. Statewide Cache Equipment a. All requests should be entered into E-Team by the County Emergency

Management Office, following current guidelines provided by DHSEM. See the section below for the process followed after the request if entered into E-Team.

4. Equipment should be requested and will be filled at the lowest level possible and requestors should begin local, if unable to fill locally, then regionally and then statewide if needed.

ii. Requests for any equipment should include as much of the following information as possible; 1. Requesting agency name, contact information, and appropriate authorization

verification


2. Identification of requesting agency command 3. Reason for requesting the radio cache/type of event 4. Primary purpose of the use of the radio cache 5. Type of radio cache assets required 6. Quantity of radio cache assets required 7. Expected duration of the event 8. Required location/access information and is pickup or delivery of equipment being

requested 9. User/requestor and/or servicing dispatch contact phone number. 10. Additional support services (e.g., technician, chargers) requested.

iii. Radio Cache Activation 1. Local or Agency to Agency Cache equipment that has an existing agreement in place will

follow the agreement for activation, etc. 2. Activation requests through E-Team or DHSEM will following the following process;

a. As soon as practical review the request, obtain further information if needed and either “Approve” or “Deny” the request. Emergency requests should be followed up with a phone call to DHSEM.

b. Approved requests will be forwarded to the SWIC for Cache assignment i. The SWIC will coordinate with the RIC Chairpersons, Appropriate COML

and/or Approved Cache hosting agencies as needed to get the best solution to the request.

c. Once the equipment has been allocated and entered into E-Team, the SWIC, State EOC or assigned person will make contact with the supplying agency and requestor and have them work out the details of activation.

iv. Cache Deactivation 1. Once the event has ended the cache shall be returned to the host agency as soon as

practical 2. The requesting agency is responsible for all loss, damage, etc to cache equipment 3. E-Team entries should be made indicting the cache is demobilized and when it is back

available for another deployment v. Issues with a Cache

1. Any issues with a cache should be reported to the host agency as soon as possible 2. The SWIC can also be notified if additional support is needed

13. COML and COMT Requests a. The SIEC has established a certification process for COML’s and COMT’s, see the training section for

more information. b. Requests for a State Certified COML or COMT should be made through E-Team, via the County

Emergency Management Office. c. Requests, once approved, will be forwarded to the SWIC to assign the best available resource based on

the specific request and the available resources. 14. Medical Command Communications

While the SIEC does not establish protocol for WV Medical Command, the radio contact processes contained in this section were developed with coordination with Medical Command and will be the policy used for radio communications.

a. Medical Regions and Naming, Each of the five regional Medical Command Centers has its own unique set of MED TALKGROUPS designated MED A through MED F.

i. WVU – West Virginia University; EMS Regions 6,7,8,9,10,11 ii. CHAS – Charleston Area Medical Center; EMS Regions 3,4

iii. HUNT – Cabell Huntington Hospital; EMS Region 2 iv. BECK – Raleigh General Hospital; EMS Region 1 v. WEST – Medical Command Center; Region 5


b. Programming of Medical Channels is permitted in all Public Safety issues radios, including but not limited to EMS, Fire, Police, EMA, 911, etc.

i. The West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (WVOEMS) operates under statewide medical protocols therefore each EMS radio (mobile and/or portable) shall have, at minimum, the native and alternate Medical Command talk groups. If space is available, every MEDICAL COMMAND talk group should be programmed in the EMS radios.

c. Programming of Medical Channels should follow the naming listed above to avoid confusion, i.e. WVU MED A, CHAS MED B, etc.

d. Procedure For Use i. MED C is the "CALL" talkgroup.

1. Each medical command center will monitor its own MED C. 2. Field unit(s) will make all initial calls to the appropriate regional command center using

only the MED C "CALL" talkgroup. a. Only the following information shall be provided to allow the MEDICAL

COMMAND dispatcher to make the talkgroup assignment: b. County/Company & Unit Number c. Status of call d. Destination facility and ETA

3. The regional medical command center will then assign the field unit a MED talkgroup A, B, D, or E for a full patient report and all further traffic for the regional command center for that trip.

4. Talkgroup F of each region may be assigned by each medical command region for special “F”unctions.

5. Field units shall not utilize MED talkgroups A, B, D, E, or F unless specifically assigned by MEDICAL COMMAND.

e. Direct to Facility, from Field Units i. In the event an EMS unit needs to talk directly to a receiving hospital, such as when transporting

a BLS patient and that patient does not require the assistance of MEDICAL COMMAND or notification to MEDICAL COMMAND, the field unit may call the hospital on the hospital specific talk group.

f. Hospital To Hospital i. Hospitals should only monitor their own talkgroup.

ii. To call another hospital, the hospital instituting the call should switch to the talkgroup of the hospital they wish to call.

g. Aeromedical Flights i. The SIEC will establish 2 talkgroups for use by all Aeromedical companies to talk to Medical

Command, 1 North and 1 South, for flight following, etc. 1. These channels shall not be used by the companies to conduct private business 2. No field unit programming is permitted, except as provided for Mobile Command

Centers in the section above. ii. Air to Ground Communications

1. All air to ground communications with public safety agencies will utilize the following “HELO” channels to coordinate landing zones, medical updates, and multi unit coordination

a. UHF Conventional Channels i. HELO 1 (468.000)

ii. HELO 2 (468.025) b. VHF Conventional Channels

i. HELO 3 (155.340) ii. HELO 4 (155.400)

c. All 4 will be programmed as conventional aeromedical channels and will operate


on the same frequency for both transmit and receive (simplex). iii. 911 Center To Medical Command Center Contact

1. 911 Centers should contact their native Medical Command Center via telephone, if possible.

a. In the event phone lines are down in the 911 Centers, they may use the MED C talkgroup to contact Medical Commands.

15. National Interoperability Channels a. In order to facilitate proper interoperability with outside agencies and mutual aid agencies on the Local,

State or Federal level it is required that any radio activated for use on the SIRN have at a minimum the UHF national interoperability channels, commonly called U-Call and U-Tac

i. These should be programmed in the repeater mode and simplex mode, as well as labeled according the most recent version of the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG)

b. In radios capable of additional bands of operations (i.e. Dual Band or Multi Band) it is recommended that the VHF, 700, 800 or Low Band, National Interoperability Channels be included and programmed according to the NIFOG.

16. Direct Connect Consoles a. Any equipment that will ultimately be connected to the system must be approved by the SIEC prior to

installation or connection. b. All connections to the system must be made by an SIEC system administrator. c. A written application and equipment list must be sent to the SWIC prior to the ordering of any

equipment. d. Security Groups

i. Each talkgroup activated in the system shall be included in a security group based on their designed use;

1. System Level (All Direct Connect Consoles) – All Primary Dispatch Talkgroups, 911s, Regional Channels, Medical Command, RRT, Trunk Trailers, Other interoperability channels.

2. County/Agency (Restricted Use) – All Tactical, Event, Privates and other county or agency level talkgroups

a. Shared use will be permitted but will require written permission between the two agencies/counties

i. The written permission should be sent to the SWIC for processing 3. Each County or Agency POC must keep the SIRN System Administrators updated on any

changed use of a talkgroup. e. Out of State Agencies

i. Out of State Agencies with Direct Connect Consoles for Mutual Aid will have restricted access to the system on an as needed basis.

1. Upon approval to connect to the system the SIEC shall make a determination of the talkgroups needed and build a security group that will allow them access to the approved talkgroups.

a. The needed talkgroups shall be restricted to the ones needed to effectively conduct mutual aid, with permission from the primary agency and the SIEC.

b. Available resources can be expanded in an emergency as approved by the SWIC or SIRN System Administrators, for the duration of the emergency incident.

f. Wide Area Dispatch Agencies i. Agencies that are dispatching on multiple talkgroups over a wide area, i.e. multiple counties,

regionally or statewide, may be required by the SIEC to use Direct Connect Consoles to address system loading and potential safety issues to other users.

ii. Agencies that meet these requirements should coordinate with the RIC and the SIEC to determine a plan.


iii. As an alternative to the Direct Connect Consoles the SIEC may come up with a plan to ease system loading and ensure proper operation, however the requesting user may have to be responsible for making upgrades as necessary.

17. Broadcast Paging Talkgroups a. In order to use broadcast paging on the trunking system, a user must request via the SWIC the creation

of a separate paging talkgroup. There shall be no broadcast paging on primary dispatch talkgroups without permission from the SIEC. Each county, state agency or federal agency requesting this type of talkgroup should use one common talkgroup. Multiple broadcast paging talkgroups must be reviewed by the SIEC prior to creation.

b. The talkgroups will be created with a profile that will transmit on all approved sites, regardless of affiliation.

c. The talkgroup may only be used for paging, no two way voice traffic. d. System loading will be reviewed as needed and additional resources may be required if paging is causing

excessive system loading.

standard operating procedure - west virginia policy.pdf · west virginia statewide interoperable...

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