Here is a SAMPLE Volunteer Mobilization Center Floor Plan. It can be very helpful organizing activities to respond to a disaster.
Below is an Emergency
Services Plan template for a local town government.
It is very
different than one for a large city or suburban entity.
The format, wording, organization and plan may be useful for you and your town. It can be used to help your town officials and emergency planners get started.
As recurring natural and
man-made disasters demonstrate, we must plan for, mitigate, prepare for and
respond to, recover from emergencies. But we also must take mitigation steps to
reduce the cost in lives and properties. We must prepare locally because our
disaster, and resulting loss of live and damage to property, will be local.
Here is one possible planning tool for local officials.
The format, wording, organization and plan may be useful for you and your town. It can be used to help your town officials and emergency planners get started.
]
Emergency Services Task Force Plan
Each emergency incident
starts locally and being dependent on others to take care of us in the event of
a major incident is not realistic. Katrina comes to mind, but 6 inches of rain
can cause loss of life and serious damage to houses, cars, business, crops and
schools in this area.
As recurring natural and
man-made disasters demonstrate, we must plan for, mitigate, prepare for and
respond to, recover from emergencies. But we also must take mitigation steps to
reduce the cost in lives and properties. We must prepare locally because our
disaster, and resulting loss of live and damage to property, will be local.
Here is one possible planning tool for local officials.
A Town of [ ]
Emergency Services Task Force is needed for six major purposes to:
- Establish new levels of contact and
communication with agencies and county Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs)
- Leverage existing local, state and federal
resources
- Provide preincident and mitigation information
to the public to allow preparation
- Write a comprehensive emergency management and
continuity of operations plan
- Train and supply town employees
- Recruit and train emergency preparedness volunteers
The Emergency Services Task
Force will consist of 3 citizens plus relevant agencies and will focus on the
following 10 areas.
- Focus on need for communication between agencies – State police (resident troopers), Sheriffs, Fire Company, Emergency Services, Public Schools, Library, state/fed agencies (MEMA, FEMA) and within our town (backup ham radio operator for major power failure, for example)
- Key contacts – Single responsible person as first point of contact and current list of all contacts (name, work and phone, e-mail, Blackberry, work and home address, etc.). Include all private sector contacts (electric company, tree removal, hardware, etc.
- Begin monthly town communication with EOC — at least notification of problems, emergency training, emergency equipment lists, emergency personnel contact lists, etc. and involvement in any events, training, and discussions.
- Focus on distributing information out to the public about planning ahead — emergency kits, smoke detectors, house numbers, alarms, and emergency supply kits (especially for town employees) – and as related to relevant incidents in our area. May involve pamphlets, press releases, blogs, website info, talks, etc.
- Focus on need for individual emergency supply kits for homeowners (use existing resources, (www.ready.gov, Red Cross, churches, etc.)
- Planning for incident management/involvement – Roles, responsibilities, contacts, protocols; and response, communication, contacts, recovery plan, continuity of operations
- Enlist volunteers in the Community Emergency Reserve/Response Team (CERT) program for training and certification
- Train Town staff and volunteers in emergency management cycle (mitigation, disaster, response, recovery, continuity of operations)
- EOC creation – at least in case of emergency. Radio, computer, desk, chair.
- Focus on special needs – senior citizens,
disabled (Senior housing, make sure backup generators are in place in
senior citizen areas for power failures).
This volunteer mobilization
center plan has been tested for over 25 years. It was first created in Florida after they suffered through multiple hurricanes.
It helps to organize volunteers to get them quickly identified, tagged, equipped, briefed, trained and out to the incident area
Unqualified and criminal volunteers also show up after an event. This plan is a way to separate the useful volunteer from the nefarious volunteer.
This plan, or one like it, may be useful to you to properly use volunteers.
It helps to organize volunteers to get them quickly identified, tagged, equipped, briefed, trained and out to the incident area
Unqualified and criminal volunteers also show up after an event. This plan is a way to separate the useful volunteer from the nefarious volunteer.
This plan, or one like it, may be useful to you to properly use volunteers.
