Welcome Back! 

We're glad you are joining us. This page is meant to walk you through our onboarding process. If you haven't spoken to us yet about joining, please start with the How to Join page and fill out the form there. We look forward to hearing from you.

Registering as an Emergency Worker

Per Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 118-04-080, "Registration is a prerequisite for eligibility of emergency workers for benefits and legal protection under chapter 38.52 RCW [Revised Code of Washington]." 

There are a few ways to get registered as an emergency worker, depending on your situation.

• If you are a clinical employee, you generally register through your hospital, clinic, or practice.

• For counties King, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom, please find the appropriate section below.

•  If you reside outside of the above counties, please let us know. Each county is different, so we are less streamlined outside of our core service area.

Completing FEMA Training

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides extensive online training. There are many course that we could recommend, but for now, please just focus on the two that you need to get your emergency worker status: ICS 100, 200 and 700.

Get a FEMA SID

To begin, you will need to create a FEMA Student ID (SID) in the FEMA Student Identification System.

1. Go to FEMA Student Identification (SID) System (dhs.gov).

2. Click Register for a FEMA SID.

3. Fill out the form and agree to the Privacy Statement. Click Register.

All of your testing and records of completed courses will be available through the FEMA SID. The courses are open, but taking a test will require an SID.

Take the Training

You can browse Emergency Management Institute - National Incident Management System (NIMS) (fema.gov) for training, but here are the ones we care about right now:

IS-100.C – An Introduction to the Incident Command System
Estimated time: ~3 hours

IS-200.C – Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
Estimated time: ~4 hours

IS-700.B – An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
Estimated time: ~3.5 hours

IS-800.D – National Response Framework, An Introduction
Estimated time: ~3 hours 

Note that new members have reported that it makes more sense to start with IS-700.B as it sets up many of the concepts that are used in the other training modules.

After taking a course and passing the test, download and save the certificate.  You will need to submit this to the King County PHRC for qualification into the Reserve Corps (volunteers). 

Registering with the PHRC

Inside of King County, the PHRC is our credentialing organization. That means that they issue your Emergency Worker ID card and provide insurance for you when we are onsite at the hospitals (during training or an actual deployment).

Join the King County PHRC

Go to Joining the PHRC - King County and fill out the Interest form. In the "Please describe why you wish to join the PHRC," you must put "MST: Radio Operator, HAM". Most PHRC members are clinical. Amateur radio operators require a special designation.

You should receive an email from them explaining what to do next. If you do not receive an email from them after 1 week has passed, please reach out to us and let us know. 

Here is a brief description of what it will ask you to do. This process may have changed, so if it says something different, do that. These instructions may be out of date.

• Complete a PHRC orientation session.

• Register in WAServ and complete all steps in your profile. See detailed instructions below.

• Provide proof of vaccination.

• Complete onboarding documents and background check (you can sign documents via DocuSign).

• Provide FEMA ICS 100, 200, and 700 training certificates (more on that below). Knowing how to function in the Incident Command System (ICS) is important to you being an effective emergency worker.

When these steps are complete, the King County PHRC send you an email with your Emergency Worker ID number. At this point you are considered credentialed, but you should still take the final steps to get an Emergency Worker ID:

• Send the PHRC an ID photo (head and shoulders with a clear, light background).

• The PHRC will submit the ID for printing. That typically takes a few weeks.

Region 1 - SNOHOMISH, SKAGIT, WHATCOM Counties

Contact ARES Washington District 1

You can learn more here: https://sites.google.com/view/dmcc-net/. Region 1 is fairly decentralized. We will connect you with the right person to get credentialed.

Region 5 - Pierce County

Contact Pierce County Emergency Management. You muse have completed ICS 100, 200, 700 and 800 training before applying. 

You must also fill out the below forms and send them to the Pierce County Emergency Management Office Assistant along with a scan of your drivers license or state ID for a background check. Contact us and we will provide the appropriate contact to submit them.

• Pierce County Emergency Worker Policy

• EMERGENCY WORKER REGISTRATION CARD