Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management Volunteers Training topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
EMA reports volunteer activations, trainings and hazard-mitigation planning in second quarter
Summary
Emergency Management Agency staff told the Christian County Commission they activated volunteers to assist Greene County during severe-wind events, conducted CERT classes and trainings including wide-area search, advanced the hazard mitigation plan and improved the Medical Reserve Corps assessment through a STRONG grant.
Emergency Management Agency staff told the Christian County Commission that the agency activated volunteers this quarter to support Greene County during wind events and focused on training, hazard-mitigation planning and improving medical reserve capacity.
The presenter said the agency activated volunteers primarily to staff a volunteer reception center, answer phone calls and recruit volunteers during Greene County wind events. The agency also completed two Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) classes and graduated participants from a sorority group; staff are planning a 2026 volunteer conference following the first annual conference in February.
“We did have myself and two volunteers go up, and take a three day course on wide area search,” the presenter said, describing training for search operations after disasters. The agency is running a five-year hazard mitigation plan update now; agency staff (named in the packet as Cheryl and Phil) are contacting stakeholders and will hold a tabletop exercise in August with a focus on train derailment scenarios rather than recovery.
Staff reported the Medical Reserve Corps completed work funded by a STRONG grant, which the presenter said improved their technical-assistance assessment score by about 12 points on a roughly 200-point scale. The agency also added a new module to its Futurity software to better track resource needs for individuals after disasters and described connecting a man whose house was destroyed in a wind event to resources that allowed him to move into safer housing.
Commissioners asked about volunteer numbers; the presenter said that while the department tracks volunteers, the exact current number fluctuates and is not available, but approximately 1,400 people have taken a CERT class over the last 20 years. Commissioners commended the agency’s volunteer base and outreach. No formal action or funding decision was taken on the report; the commission received the update and asked staff to continue training and planning work.
