The ICS 213 General Message Form

In order to be effective, ARES members must keep abreast of new applications and techniques in emergency communications.

The ARES role in public service communications is to move information from point A to point B at the request of the Served Agency. ARES volunteers perform this task using communications procedures developed to provide accurate rapid communications.

The 213 has become the basic written communications document between all areas of emergency response. Users are often located at separate locations and use the 213 form to communicate real time events.

Messages originate at one location, are transmitted to another site, and a response may be returned to the originator. The reply message can be combined with the original message for the convenience of the originator.

Just as the Incident Command System is adaptable to various incidents, the methods of communications are matched to the situation. The 213 message form may be transmitted by voice, digital, or even hand carried to get the job done.

The form 213 can be found at: ics213.com/