Tarrant County RACES FAQ

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1. How do I join Tarrant County RACES. ?
2. Where can I find RACES on the air?
3. Who is in charge of Tarrant County RACES/ARES ?
4. How do I sign-up for RACES Net Alerts ?
5. How do I renew my RACES Membership ?

How do I join Tarrant County RACES/ARES ?

2.  Attend the annual SKYWARN training held each spring and periodically through the year by the National Weather Service.  Check the RACES Calendar link on the left for dates of scheduled classes.  Make sure to choose a date that has the the advanced SKYWARN component  as well.  All the dates listed on the Tarrant RACES page have what you need.

3.  Complete the FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI) self study courses on the Incident Command System (IS-100.a, IS-200.a) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS IS-700.a).  These courses can be completed on-line in just a couple of hours of time. Follow the course links below:

Introduction to the Incident Command System IS-100.a

http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/is100A.asp

Incident Command System for the Single Resouce and Initial Incident IS-200.a

http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/is200A.asp

For the National Incident Management System IS-700.a

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700a.aspWeb/IS/is700A.asp

Send a copy of the emails showing successful completion or copies of the certificates with your application.

4.  Make application to the RACES coordinator.  

You can request an application in writing from the RACES Coordinator, Tarrant County Office of Emergency Management, 1000 Throckmorton Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102.

Or download the  Application here.  All aplicants will be required to pass a background check conducted by the authorizing agency as a condition of acceptance as a R.A.C.E.S. member.

5.  Listen and observe how the nets are run to learn the procedures used.  Read the training materials found elsewhere on this site.

6.  It is strongly suggested that you take the ARRL's Emergency Communications Course, Level 1.  Information on this course and others can be found on the Tarrant County RACES web site or on the web at http://www.arrl.org/cce/

This course is also offered locally from time to time by the Texas Disaster Resource Pool organization.  Check the calendar on the home page of this site for upcoming dates.

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Where can I find RACES/ARES on the air ?

The primary county wide 2 meter repeater frequency for Tarrant County RACES/ARES operations is 146.940 MHz.  The backup repeater frequencies include 147.14, 146.760 and 146.68. 

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Who is in charge of Tarrant County RACES/ARES ?

The Tarrant County RACES Coordinator is Keith Wells KD5IMT, Senior Emergency Management Coordinator, City of Fort Worth, Office of Emergency Management. All questions  should be directed to Keith at the City of Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management. 

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How do I sign-up to be notified of RACES Nets ?

Tarrant County RACES members may sign-up for notification of RACES nets by Telephone Call/SMS Phone Messages and Emails.  If you are not already on our notification list, please send an email requesting to be added to this list.

Calls will be placed anytime there is an authorized RACES net.  This includes events which happen early in the mornings etc.  SMS messages to your telephone will have a limited amount of characters, but your cellular provider may charge you for each message you receive.  

Still interested in being notified by the automated system that replaced the Call Down Tree, please send an emaill to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Please include your name and call, along with the voice phone number you want to notified at, an SMS number to send messages and and your email address.  We'll send you a confirmation when you are on the list.

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How do I renew by RACES Membership ?

Tarrant County RACES members may renew their RACES membership by submitting a new application form to the Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management.   This requirement for renewal is to assure that we have the most current information on file.

You can request an application in writing from the RACES Coordinator, Tarrant County Office of Emergency Management, 1000 Throckmorton Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102.

Or download the  Application here.  All renewal applicants will be required to pass a new background check conducted by the authorizing agency as a condition of renewal as a R.A.C.E.S. member.

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