100 Mile House & District Emergency Support Services (ESS) offers help for local victims and evacuees of fires and natural disasters.
ESS director Liz Jones says the local team provides short-term assistance to residents who are forced to leave their homes because of fire, floods or other emergencies in the South Cariboo.
They get a call right after the 9-1-1 service callouts to emergency crews, she explains, and then attend the scenes to provide assistance that may include food, lodging, clothing, emotional support and family reunification services (together with the Canadian Red Cross).
Jones adds ESS volunteers are the people you don’t want to see, but you are glad they are there when you need them.
Most recently, ESS helped 70 Mile House seniors Bill and Jennie Neufeld who lost their home and possessions to a Jan. 8 fire, including much-needed personal effects.
“They were assisted by our team, and we did pay for food, lodging and clothing for the first 72 hours as well. I took them around two days later to doctor's appointments and a few other things.”
She adds the local grocery stores also frequently come forward with gift certificates for people in need, such as when Save-On-Foods gave the Neufelds a $100 food voucher.
However, all this initial help should not dissuade people from coming forward with donations or other assistance for emergency victims like the Neufelds who, Jones says, have a long road ahead of them.
“They still totally need all the help they can get. To rebuild when you don't have any insurance is phenomenal; our hearts go out to them.”
ESS deals with anything from these Level 1 responses, such as house and apartment fires and small fire evacuations, up to large-scale events such as wildfires and floods.
Jones explains local volunteers are needed to cover all the bases for potential small- or large-scale emergencies and disasters.
ESS volunteers come from all over the South Cariboo, but she says folks must apply, and go through a screening process. Training is then provided for successful candidates to build up a variety of ESS skills and experience.
Not all volunteers work directly with evacuees, such as the many positions in an Emergency Reception Centre set up by ESS for disaster relief efforts, Jones says, adding it isn't necessary to be available 24/7 either.
The local ESS is funded by the Cariboo Regional District and the District of 100 Mile House, she explains, including related training and travel costs for members.
For more information on becoming an ESS volunteer, leave a message for Jones at 250-395-2152 (100 Mile House Fire-Rescue) or e-mail her at rlavalon@telus.net.