New Nevada Citizen Corps would assist in emergencies

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 | 9:38 a.m.

When disaster strikes -- whether it is a terrorist attack, earthquake, or tornado -- officials hope volunteers trained through the Citizen Corps will step in to help the police, fire and other emergency responders.

These citizen volunteers would provide valuable first-response aid to victims, and be able to help authorities with time- and manpower-consuming tasks, such as setting up emergency shelters, said some officials attending a Citizen Corps training conference this week in Las Vegas.

"If we have an incident, it doesn't matter if it's a fire, flood or terrorist attack, the first people there will probably be citizens, before police and firefighters," Jerry Bussell, homeland security adviser to Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, said Monday at the conference being held at the Orleans.

About 100 police, fire, and emergency management officials from throughout the Western U.S. and Pacific territories are attending five days of lectures, discussion and lessons on the Citizen Corps' programs: Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, the Medical Response Corps, and Community Emergency Response Teams.

The conference is a chance to share what has worked and not worked in different areas, and to train those who will eventually train their neighbors in how to react to emergencies, some attendees said.

Margie Gunn, director of emergency management in Lincoln County, was looking forward to the training on Community Emergency Response Teams, known as CERT, because she has a $13,500 federal grant to establish one.

Gunn said CERT volunteers will know how to set up emergency shelters and will open up emergency operations centers when needed. Training volunteers to do those jobs would free up the professional emergency responders to focus on the more pressing needs of the community, she said.

Also, there would be a group of volunteers committed to helping in the worst situations.

"We wouldn't have to try to find people to help," Gunn said.

Jackie Roe, a volunteer with Citizen Corps in the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, said her interest was piqued by how others have planned to deal with evacuating older residents.

Some have a plan to pick up the elderly and even know what medications they need, in case a quick evacuation is necessary, Roe said.

Sharon Harding, volunteer coordinator for Metro Police, spoke at the conference Monday about the 300-volunteer program she oversees, and took some new ideas from the session.

Harding said Metro's volunteers do many jobs for the department, including clerical work, writing tickets for those illegally parking in spaces for the handicapped, and assisting tourists at McCarran International Airport, the Strip, and downtown.

Harding also said that about one-third of the volunteers are active with the area's CERT program and practice for a possible major disaster by helping the American Red Cross set up shelters when needed.

Harding said one valuable idea she took from the Monday sessions was that CERT trainers can be retired military or trained volunteers.

A highlight of the first day of the conference was a speech by C. Suzanne Mencer, director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness in the Department of Homeland Security.

Mencer said people need to prepare at home and train to help authorities after a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Learning first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be crucial, she said.

Duct tape and plastic are just the beginning, she said, recalling federal Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's advice last year that people prepare home survival kits with flashlights, batteries, food and water and materials to seal their homes in a disaster.

The Citizen Corps program sagged after being initiated in December 2002, authorities said.

The Bush administration has increased calls for participation, with Ridge setting a goal of engaging half of all Americans in preparing home emergency kits, learning first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and volunteering for disaster planning and exercises.

The federal government allocated $35 million this year for the program, and the Bush administration is seeking $50 million for the 2005 fiscal year.

The Associated Press

contributed to this story.