EMA Volunteer Corps

Start Where You Are

Use What You Have

Do What You Can

Clinton County EMA is looking for a few good volunteers to fill key positions in disaster response roles. Volunteers are the lifeline to a community before, during, and after a disaster. They can make, or their absence can break, a community.

During a disaster, first responders will be fully involved in helping their community. For this reason, we are seeking non-first responders or members who would not already be involved in a disaster response (e.g. medical, law enforcement, fire, EMS, et cetera).

We are looking for volunteers for the following teams:

Damage Assessment Team (DAT)

Mobile team who conducts on-location damage assessments post disaster to enable state or federal disaster declaration requests. Team typically will operate within 72-hours following a disaster and will use mobile devices to capture damage information. 100% of tasks are performed outdoors.

Each four (4) person team would be matched up with a jurisdictional representative (e.g. LE, FD, local gov't employee) to conduct damage assessment in an impacted jurisdiction.

Goal: Setup four teams (one each in Blanchester and Sabina, and two in Wilmington), conduct 2.5 hours of initial training in early March, and for teams to be ready for an emergency by mid-March 2022.

Family Assistance Center (FAC) Team

General support team for operating a designated location for family members to assemble after a mass fatality incident. FAC team to work in conjunction with other NGO’s (e.g. Wilmington Area Ministerial Alliance, American Red Cross, et cetera) and the Coroner’s Office. 95% of tasks are performed indoors.

FAC team would focus on FAC opening/closing, behind the scenes coordination of coordination information reporting, resource requests, and FAC communication with the Emergency Operations Center.

Information: Clinton County is one of four rural counties in SW Ohio covered by a State Homeland Security Grant (SHSG) to develop a rural county plan, develop a training program, and conduct a FAC exercise by December 2022. Adams, Brown, Clinton, and Highland Counties are part of this group.

Goal: To recruit a team that would help guide volunteer organizations in establishing, operating, and sustaining a FAC immediately following a mass casualty incident.

Logistics Team

Dedicated team to enable emergency resource management, accountability of responders and volunteers, and points of distribution (POD) following a disaster (to distribute water, ice, or other materials to affected populations. 90% of tasks are performed outdoors.

Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) Team

Dedicated team to receive community spontaneous volunteers, record their information, match volunteer skills with community needs, assign members to volunteer jobs, provide safety briefings, and help coordinate transportation with the Emergency Operations Center. 95% of tasks are performed indoors.

The VRC Team works with other community volunteer organizations to establish, operate, and sustain a VRC following a major disaster.

Information: In a time of disaster and crisis, friends, neighbors, families will be enthusiastic to respond to needs in their local area. As the media plays and replays scenes of the disaster, many people will come forward to volunteer. Unaffiliated volunteers will show up, whether directed or not. Unaffiliated volunteers (also known as spontaneous volunteers) are those not associated with any recognized disaster response agency. However, they may have other training, skills and experience and appear at a disaster site to offer help. The VRC is used to manage and organize the unaffiliated volunteers during a disaster. These volunteers are processed at the VRC to determine their skill-set and then tasked with assignments where there skills can be utilized for the disaster relief effort.

Community Outreach Team

Volunteers to help support community events as EMA representatives (e.g. county fair, festivals, et cetera) to promote community preparedness. Tasks to include booth setup, public engagement, surveys, and more. Most events are outdoors.

The Community Outreach Team engages with the public to help promote preparedness within Clinton County.

Sign up today if you are interested in becoming a part of the EMA team, or contact EMA at (937) 382-6673 for more information.

Training Dates To Be Announced.