Pinellas County (PinCo) has twenty-three emergency evacuation shelters. Depending on the type of emergency, the PinCo Department of Emergency Management may open all or a limited number of shelters.

When members of Pinellas ACS are deployed to emergency evacuation shelters within Pinellas County, they will be required to bring the VHF/UHF communications equipment and administrative supplies needed to maintain communications with the Pinellas County EOC. Depending on the type and expected duration of the activation event, each individual will also need to bring the personal items they would need if the shelter were locked down and travel to and from the shelter becomes prohibited.

During a tropical storm or hurricane, members should include the personal items needed for a deployment that could last up to 3 days. If the member is reporting to a shelter from an evacuation zone, they should include the personal items needed for up to 7 days. Personal items will need to fit within the 60-square foot space allocated to each PinCo ACS member.

VHF/UHF Communications Equipment

VHF radio go-kits are maintained and stored at the Pinellas County Public Safety Complex. When individuals are tasked with supporting an emergency evacuation shelter, they should proceed to the EOC to pick-up one of these kits. Each kit contains the following items:

• 50-Watt Dual Band VHF/UHF Transceiver
• DC power Supply, AC Power cable, and Radio-PS power cable
• Laptop Computer configured to support Winlink, a sound modem, and the interface cables needed to connect the computer to the transceiver.
• Dual Band VHF/UHF Antenna
• Coax cable

Most of the shelters now have an external VHF antenna installed, so depending on the assigned location, the antenna and coax cable should not be required. However, you may want to consider augmenting the radio kit with an HT, a set of personal headphones, a 3-wire extension cord, power strip, and a backup battery.

Administrative Supplies

There is no guarantee that when you arrive at the shelter that the shelter team will have the administrative supplies you need. Therefore, you should assemble a kit of administrative supplies to bring with you. This kit should include:

• Pens /pencils, highlighters, permanent markers
• Paper clips, scotch tape, post-it notes
• Notebook and paper
• Blank ICS Forms
  • ICS 213 General Message Form
  • ICS 214 Activity Log
  • ICS 309 Communications Log
• A soft copy of the Pinellas ACS Emergency Communications Plan on your phone or tablet.
• Identification
  • Copy of Driver’s License
  • Pinellas ACS Identification Badge
  • FCC License

Personal Items

Since you could possibly be at the shelter for three or in a worst-case scenario 7 days, you should assemble a kit containing the personal items you will need to be comfortable.

• Air Mattress, Bed linen, or a sleeping bag, a camp pillow
• Black eye mask, foam ear plugs
• Wash cloth and towel or wet wipes
• Sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses
• Clothing
  • Complete change of clothing to include long pants, shirts, and closed toe shoes (3 to 7 days)
  • A sweater, sweatshirt, or light jacket ( some of the shelters can get chilly
  • Rain gear
• Prescription, non- prescription meds, spare glasses
• Toiletries (e.g., toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.)
• Food – a small cooler is permitted (Special dietary foods and snacks
• Personal electronics
  • Cell phone, charger and charging cables
  • Power bank (Battery)
  • Watch or Clock
  • LED flashlight and spare batteries
• Emergency money (cash for food, gas, etc. recommend small bills. Remember, the ATM machines may not be working.

NOTE: Unfortunately, the Public Safety Library phone App no longer permits users to download Field Operations Guides (FOGs). If you have the App on your phone and have previously downloaded (NIFOG, AUXFOG, Florida FOG) they are still available. If you don’t have these FOGs downloaded, you will need to find copies elsewhere.