The Cold Lake Family & Community Support Services (FCSS) is looking for volunteers to man the Emergency Reception Centre. The FCSS is responsible for setting up a place where people can get help and information during an emergency.
Cathy Aust, Social Programming Coordinator with the FCSS says The Emergency Reception Centre provides five key services in case of emergencies, “emergency clothing, lodging, food, registration and inquiry and personal services services.”
The role of Emergency Registration and Inquiry is important, Aust says, “in case of an emergency a person would register with us, even if they go on to stay somewhere else, so we know how many people we have safe.” An example Aust uses is if a neighbourhood had a big fire that impacted a lot of residences, then fire and emergency crews would know who was safe and who they needed to find. It also helps alleviate stress on families as members can call the centre and find out whether or not a loved one is safe. The inquiry part is also important in helping locate people, often times someone will ask where their loved on is and The Emergency Response Centre can help locate that person or let emergency crews know the person needs to be located.
Aust says The FCSS hopes to find 21 volunteers willing to sign up, that way if some volunteers are involved in the emergency or cannot help for any other reason, the volunteer force will still be strong and able to man the centre. Aust says there is training before volunteers can be place into a role at the centre, “it’s Basic Emergency Management Training and The Incident Command System Training 100; both of those can be done online and when they’re done a person can print off the certificate and that’s verification that they are complete.”
If you are interested in becoming an Emergency Response Centre volunteer you may contact Cathy Aust at The FCSS in Cold Lake 780-594-4495 or visit FCSS online.