Volunteer corps to be trained

The training includes first aid and putting out small fires.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Efforts to coordinate volunteers as the result of last year's flooding have evolved into plans for a countywide volunteer corps, with units in every Trumbull County township and city.
This month, the Trumbull County office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management received a $20,250 grant to begin training volunteers to help during natural disasters.
The first training session, for volunteers based out of Rock of Grace Church in Kinsman, is scheduled on May 16, said Patrick Cline, former disaster services director at Salvation Army of Warren, who is coordinating the program as a volunteer. Training sessions for Warren volunteers are scheduled to begin July 6 and 20.
The eventual goal is to train two teams of volunteers in each Trumbull County township, two to four teams in each small city and eight teams in Warren. The teams will be based out of churches, schools or government buildings. Four Warren churches have offered to house teams, Cline said.
The grant this year will put 150 people through 16 hours of community emergency response team, or CERT, training and equip them each with a hard-hat and basic first-aid supplies, Cline said.
The training is designed to teach how to put out small fires, switch off gas lines and deal with minor medical emergencies.
What usually happens
"After a disaster, about 80 percent of people who are rescued are rescued by a nonprofessional," Cline said. "Professional EMAs and firefighters do the big rescues, but a lot of the time, it is a neighbor or a person who is just driving by who helps you out."
When disaster strikes, CERT volunteers will be able to use their training first to help around their own homes. They will then be expected to go to a team assembly point, where information about the status of various neighborhoods will be coordinated, Cline said.
The teams will work with local safety forces and the county emergency management agency to determine where their help is most needed, he said.
During one 24-hour period of heavy rain in 2003, the Liberty Fire Department responded to 300 calls for assistance, Chief Michael Durkin said. A volunteer group could help in areas where the problem is less severe and help judge where the department's services are needed most.
"It is just a good idea," he said.
The township will encourage participation in the countywide CERT program rather than create a volunteer corps of its own, as had been discussed, he said.
The Trumbull County program grew out of the Trumbull County Unmet Needs and Long Term Recovery Committee, a group formed in the aftermath of 2003 flooding to coordinate the efforts of churches and nonprofit organizations.
"Everybody kept saying we needed to be better prepared," Cline said. "We need to do more for the community."
Members will be expected to attend two events and one refresher course each year, Cline said.
Participation
About 100 people are enrolled in or have completed a similar training program in Mahoning County, said Clark Jones of the emergency management office there.
However, the people who complete that course are not expected to work together or with professional agencies in emergencies.
When flooding hit Hubbard and Hubbard Township, volunteers stepped forward to help residents clean, said Jim Zingale, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church. They could have used the training on how best to do it, especially in regard to infection and mold.
"Some training would have made it easier for us to do the work and do it smarter," he said.
His church has assembled cleaning supplies should disaster strike again, and he is involved in putting together a team that will be based at Hubbard City Hall.
Even if the teams are never called on in a disaster, time spent on training is still well-spent, Cline said.
"If the procedures are never used for a natural disaster, if a kid falls off a bike or someone's propane grill catches fire and they try to put it out, they have used the training," he said.
People interested in volunteering may call the CERT office at (330) 392-7928 or the county emergency management agency at (330) 675-2666.
siff@vindy.com