Summary of
Standard Operating Procedures

Part 1 - Organization

An overview of the CARES Standard Operating Procedures, Part 1, is provided here. A complete copy of the CARES SOP Part 1 is available here.

Part 1 provides general information about CARES, its mission, and the environment in which it operates.  This part of the SOP includes the following sections:

Section 1 – Introduction
Section 2 – Organization
Section 3 – City Hazards
Section 4 – Served Agencies

Section 1 – Introduction

The purpose of this document is to describe how the Cupertino Amateur Radio Emergency Services (CARES) organization will operate in an emergency to support the City of Cupertino, identified local city agencies, and city neighborhoods.

This document is for use by several groups. The CARES organization will use this plan as the basis for describing who we are and what we do. It will also provide CARES members with guidelines, procedures, and policies on how we prepare and respond when activated.

This document presents a variety of information useful to all levels in the CARES organization. In the event of an emergency, this plan will be used as the set of operating procedures that guide CARES members during a response.

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Section 2 – Organization

The CARES organization was formed to serve the public. It is a volunteer organization made up of licensed amateur radio operators who live, work, or have a vested interest in Cupertino, and have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

In the event of a declared disaster, CARES operates under the authority and direction of the City of Cupertino Director of Emergency Services in accordance to the Memorandum of Understanding CARES has with the City.

 Mission
The mission of the Cupertino Amateur Radio Emergency Service is to maintain and train Amateur Radio volunteers capable of providing professional emergency communications, increasing the City's emergency response effectiveness, and speeding the recovery of our community.

The two objectives CARES members pursue are:

• Preparation - CARES members prepare for activation by taking part in communications system planning and operation, training, and exercises.

• Response - CARES members deliver backup and emergency communications to our city, served agencies and our neighbors

CARES Structure
At any given time, CARES operates under one of two different models.

• During Preparedness Operations (CARES is not activated, see Part II, Section 5), the organization's efforts are spent on preparedness activities including training, drills, exercises, recruiting, and relationship management.

• During Response Operations (CARES is activated. see Part II, Section 5), the organization takes on different roles to support the response and the needs as determined by the City's emergency response Logistics Section Chief.

Roles and Responsibilities
CARES works because its members are willing to invest their time in specific organization roles. This section describes the different roles that need to be filled to ensure CARES can carry out its mission.

• Emergency Coordinator/Radio Officer (EC/RO)
• Assistant Emergency Coordinator/Deputy Radio Officer (AEC/DRO)
• Emergency Responder
• Public Relations Coordinator
• Agency Liaison
• Training Coordinator
• Engineer in Charge
• Membership Coordinator

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Section 3 - City Hazards

The purpose of documenting the city hazards is to ensure that the CARES group understands the risks that exist in Cupertino and what to expect if the hazard were to manifest itself. The analysis presented in this section is not exhaustive. However, it does identify the main hazards relevant to the CARES mission. The City Hazards relevant to CARES are:

• Seismic Hazard. The city is seismically very active. The mountains and lower foothills of Cupertino are crossed by the San Andreas Fault, that moves from side to side, and its two splinter faults, the Sargent-Berrocal and Monta Vista Fault systems, that move up and down.

• Flood Hazard from Rain Storms. Several streams and creeks flow through Cupertino, primarily from south to north in the direction toward the San Francisco Bay.

• Flood Hazard from Dam Failure. Stevens Creek Dam is the only dam that affects the City of Cupertino. It is part of the Stevens Creek County Park and owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The reservoir is periodically inspected and the existing data about its capacity and endurance indicates a sound structure.

• Fire Hazard. Cupertino has several rural areas with deep canyons. Because no wild fires have occurred here in recent times, the City and County Fire take the risk of wind-driven fire seriously.

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Section 4 - Served Agencies

CARES has formal agreements with entities referred to as Served Agencies. For each Served Agency, specific agency requirements relevant to CARES have been identified.  CARES has developed specific response plans to address each requirement.  Copies of all agreements are included in Part IV References Section and are viewable here.

• City of Cupertino
• Santa Clara County Fire Department
• Cupertino Sanitary District
• San Jose Water

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 updated:  February 17, 2007