Copyright 2006 The Daily Oklahoman 
 
By TIM HENLEY
The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK) 

EDMOND, Okla. — When Mike Magee began working in the city’s Emergency Management Department two years ago, he implemented a program that allows community volunteers to be trained in disaster response.

The Community Emergency Response Team program is designed to allow volunteers to be trained to perform low-risk tasks during emergency situations, said Magee, Edmond’s emergency management director.

However, Magee said volunteers won’t be participating in activities that are considered high-risk, such as carrying weapons or operating emergency vehicles.

Currently, about 75 to 80 volunteers are a part of the response team, Magee said.

Volunteers are trained in areas that include disaster preparedness, fire suppression, medial operations and disaster psychology.

Volunteers receive both classroom and hands-on training, including a mock search and rescue drill held at the end of the training session, Magee said.

The drill usually takes place at an abandoned building.

The next training session will begin June 6 and will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays for three weeks. Volunteers must complete at least 20 hours of training before they’re issued a badge.

The program was first initiated by the Los Angeles Fire Department in 1987 following an earthquake in which several untrained volunteers responded to the disaster, according to the Edmond Emergency Management Web site. The fire department recognized the volunteers as an important resource if they had training.

Magee said he wanted to bring the program to Edmond because the city “had a lot of people that wanted to help, but there wasn’t a mechanism they could plug into. We were looking for a way that we could train, equip and organize people that we could use.”

Volunteers of any age are allowed to participate in the program.