Volunteers

Behind the scenes volunteers work closely with the St. Charles County Division of Emergency Management (EMD) on special projects. One example includes activations of National Weather Service trained spotter network (SKYWARN) ahead of severe thunderstorms approaching our county. Trained radio operators are sent to the National Weather Service to support their regional spotter networks, while others are deployed to critical spotter locations throughout the County. Some report to the County Emergency Operations Center to aid EMD Staff with activation and manning of the EOC.

These volunteers are over 60 strong. Volunteers come from all walks of life including business, industry, skilled trades and local Ham Radio clubs. Some have a strong background in computer and communication technology. Others have experience in industrial management, public utilities, telecommunications and construction trades vital to disaster response and recovery. Retirees from these areas have joined the team. The volunteers have designed and implemented an extremely high tech Ham Radio repeater system that is non-dependent upon telephone lines to activate primary and backup sites, with radio frequency (RF) controlled base stations and remote receivers. Some are skilled at keying data into a computer logging system or handling a high volume of telephone calls that may hit the St. Charles County Emergency Operations Center during a major emergency. Some are mechanics that keep our boats, generators, and other equipment operational.

The Emergency Communications Association of St. Charles County (formerly known as the St. Charles County EMD Volunteer Service Association) has a Memorandum of Understanding with our county government. It is a not-for-profit corporation registered with the State of Missouri. The ECA is developing an extensive training program that requires participation to insure readiness to support emergency communications in the St. Charles County Emergency Operations Center. Training includes management of walk-in-volunteers to make effective, efficient and safe use of community resources during a major disaster. The Ham Radio operators have their own communication equipment in readiness mode. They are trained in rapid deployment for damage assessment. This assumes that all telephone or 9-1-1 systems may fail, during a disaster. They routinely practice so that they know where all the critical facilities (schools, nursing homes, hospitals and others) are located in the County. They have weekly radio training nets on the local 145.490 MHz repeater at 8:30 PM every Monday evening.

During previous disasters, such as the Great Flood of 1993, these volunteers (a first line of defense) were vital to manage 16,000 walk-in-volunteers at sandbagging staging areas. The St. Charles County EMD volunteers logged over 7,598.3 hours, during response and recovery phases of the 1993 flood disasters. FEMA allowed local jurisdictions to use logged volunteer hours and time spent filling sandbags, as a credit against their public emergency expenditures. They coordinated with the County EOC by radio and cellular phone. They provided liaison between sandbagging staging, levee sites and the County EOC. They were responsible for special reconnaissance missions to assess and report which roads were blocked by debris or flood waters. Road closing information was then shared with the media and emergency agencies. They worked closely with the Missouri Water Patrol, St. Charles County Sheriff's Department, United States Coast Guard, Missouri National Guard and Levee Districts. They were responsible for transporting equipment, personnel and supplies by boat to isolated areas, with radio communications on each boat. All EMD and ARES volunteers are trained in the Incident Command System.

Our volunteers meet monthly at 7:00 PM on the Second Thursday of each month at the County Emergency Operations Center, 301 North Second Street, St. Charles MO 63301. Members are required to spend at least 24 hours per year in service to the county EMD. From 1989 to 1996, the county EMD volunteers logged 36,680 hours of active service, which might be valued between $733,600 to $1,467,200 savings to local taxpayers (if one uses $20 to $40 per hour rates to compare). The ECA is encouraging greater community participation in their volunteer program that has been recognized by FEMA National Training Institute, as a prepared and unique local community volunteer program. Interested citizens can contact us to get more information. Applicants do not have to be Ham Radio operators. We need volunteers that have cellular phones, too. Members must be at least 18 years of age. Background record checks are mandatory prior to official appointment as an EMD Volunteer. We especially need volunteers that are available, during weekdays and third shift.

St. Charles County Emergency Management Agency is a public safety department of St. Charles County Government responsible for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery efforts associated with natural or man-made emergencies and disasters, in accordance with State Statutes and Federal Laws.