City of Victoria seeks emergency response volunteers

The City of Victoria is currently recruiting volunteers for its emergency support services team to help when disasters — both large and small — strike.

Tanya Patterson, the city's emergency program coordinator, says these volunteers deliver support to evacuees in almost any type of emergency.

"In the city of Victoria, the most frequent activity is responding to residential fires, whether it's a house fire or a residential fire and people are evacuated and ... need food, shelter, clothing," Patterson said on CBC's All Points West. 

The volunteers are part of a provincial program funded by Emergency Management B.C. Many of those responding to the provincial flood emergency are part of the same program, says Patterson.

Even though volunteers may be based in Victoria, she says some have travelled elsewhere to help out with other emergencies.

"Our emergency service support volunteers did help out in the Okanagan in 2017 and 2018 and this past summer for the wildfires, as well as helping out with the recent flooding across the province. But they can say no — it's just based on their availability," she said. 

Typically, volunteers can expect to meet once a month for meetings and training sessions as well as a few weekends a year for more involved training sessions.

"We do training and exercises where we may go and set up a mock reception centre or group lodging centre in a community centre," Patterson said. 

Being prepared

Emergency preparedness is particularly "top of mind" after a year of wildfires, a heat wave and flooding, she says. 

Patterson said the ideal volunteer is one who is passionate about helping their community and building resiliency for their community — as well as being prepared for an emergency themselves. 

This means:

1. Knowing your risks and what types of emergencies you might experience in your community.

2. Having a plan for those types of emergencies.

3. Getting an emergency kit together with all the supplies you might need.

4. Knowing where you'll get authoritative sources of information and how you will connect with your friends and families to help each other. 

Those interested in volunteering or looking for more resources on emergency preparedness can visit the support services' website.