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Emergency support services

HomeLiving hereEmergency managementEmergency support services
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Living Here

The Regional District of Central Okanagan's Emergency Support Services (ESS) team relies on volunteers whose aid is invaluable in responding to the 'people' needs in any emergency in our community. Through planning, training, mentorship and practice, our dedicated and compassionate ESS volunteers are at the ready to be deployed to provide short-term essential needs to those residents impacted in an emergency.

The ESS program plays an important role in responding to emergencies in the Central Okanagan by:

  • Helping people to remain independent and self-sufficient
  • Helping meet basic survival needs during a disaster
  • Reuniting family members separated by a disaster
  • Providing people with accurate, up to date information about the emergency
  • Helping people re-establish themselves as quickly as possible after a disaster
  • Helping a community work through the recovery process

What do ESS volunteers do?

The Regional District of Central Okanagan Emergency Support Services team relies on volunteers whose aid is invaluable in responding to the 'people' needs in any emergency in our community. Through planning, training, mentorship and practice, our dedicated and compassionate ESS volunteers are at the ready to be deployed to provide short-term essential needs to those residents impacted in an emergency. They also:

 

  • Provide arrangements for temporary services to evacuees through pre-arranged community suppliers such as restaurants, grocery and clothing stores, hotels etc.;
  • Provide for pre-arranged facilities to be adapted into a reception centre for a safe place where multiple evacuees can gather to receive information and assistance;
  • Provide for pre-arranged facilities to be converted into group lodging in the event the community needs to offer lodging to a large number of evacuees;
  • Provide emergency preparedness education to the public and community organizations
  • Meet monthly (between September to June) and take various training courses

Major tasks of the ESS team

  • Recruiting and training volunteers and staff;
  • Identifying facilities suitable for use as reception centres and group lodging;
  • Establishing linkages with key local emergency responders and non-government disaster agencies, and
  • Establishing relationships with local businesses and service organizations to supply goods and services during emergencies

Basic requirements to become an ESS volunteer

Transportation

As emergencies can happen at any time of day or night, ESS volunteers must have their own transport so that they can attend where needed.

Attendance at Training

Volunteers must be willing to attend meetings and training in a variety of areas of service to insure that we can provide the necessary assistance to evacuees.

Have a phone and preferably email

This is needed so that the volunteer coordinator or ESS director can easily contact volunteers and update them on initiatives and training.

Personal attributes

ESS Volunteers should be flexible, responsible, accountable and physically and emotional capable of handling the demands placed on them during emergencies. The Provincial Emergency Program, of which ESS is a part, uses an Incident Command process to communicate, allocate resources and make decisions. All volunteers need to be comfortable working under this structure which is critical to efficient operations during emergencies.

Meetings

The ESS Team meets monthly (September to June) on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. The meetings are held at the Kelowna Fire Hall #1, Enterprise Way.

When an event occurs, our trained members take the lead in offering help to their communities. Training is offered online and in classroom settings.

Training requirements for ESS volunteers

Within the first two years of joining ESS, all volunteers are expected to complete the following training:

  • ESS 100 - Introduction to ESS
  • ESS 107 - Level One Response
  • ESS 111 - Reception Centre
  • ESS 113 - Registration & Referrals

Additional courses will be offered and will be open to all members. These include but are not limited to:

  • ESS 123 - Documentation Unit
  • ESS 125 - Managing Walk-In Disaster Volunteers
  • ESS 112 - Group Lodging Course
  • ESS 124 - Resource Acquisition: Food, Clothing & Lodging
  • ESS 171 - Site Management

In addition to the ESS Training courses described above, ESS volunteers and staff may be able to access other courses offered through the Emergency Management Division (EMD) at the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

As well as responding to the large events that have taken place in the past, ESS members respond to all events where individuals are forced from their home.

Level 1 response is defined as one that involves fewer than ten evacuees and will be attended by members of our local ESS team.

Team members willing to respond to Level 1 events must have taken:

  • ESS 100
  • ESS 107
  • ESS 113

And have attended a minimum of one event with an experienced member.

Contact or apply to volunteer

Contact the ESS director

  • Email
  • Phone 250-215-1789

Other useful links

  • Government of BC: emergency support services (ESS) volunteers
  • Government of BC: emergency preparedness, response and recovery
  • PreparedBC: 3 steps to preparedness
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Regional District of Central Okanagan

1450 KLO Road
Kelowna, BC, V1W 3Z4
Phone: 250-763-4918
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Open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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The RDCO acknowledges our presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (land) of the syilx / Okanagan people who have resided here since time immemorial. We recognize, honour, and respect the syilx / Okanagan lands upon which we live, work, and play.

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