Make a Difference During a Disaster

How will you respond in the event of an emergency? As a County employee, you are by law a disaster service worker and that means -- if you haven’t already been assigned a role -- you will likely be tasked with some duties outside of your normal job during and/or after a countywide disaster.

”As County workers our day-to-day mission includes delivering excellent public service -- and during a disaster that mission is no different.  The specific duties you are assigned, however, might change during large-scale emergencies,” said Holly Crawford, director of the Office of Emergency Services. “The more people we can train ahead of time as disaster service workers the less ‘just-in-time training’ will be needed.  And this will ultimately allow us to provide better service to disaster victims. We need your help in achieving that goal.”

Some of the roles that need to be filled include answering phones with 2-1-1, the County’s public information line, to connect residents with disaster information and resources, and working in a Local Assistance Center or in a County shelter. In all three assignments, you will be helping the public by directing them to resources that will help them stay safe during or recover from an emergency.

As we gear up for peak wildfire season, the County is asking all employees to consider which of those roles they might be best suited to fill in a disaster, and to then sign up for training classes to perform these jobs.  

All of this is part of the County’s Advanced Recovery Initiative program to ensure County workers are prepared to jump in and help others recover in a disaster.

Some County employees have already been identified as Advanced Recovery Initiative members for support to the County Shelter Team, Local Assistance Center Teams, County 2-1-1 teams, Emergency Operations Center staffing, etc. The Office of Emergency Services will reach out to you directly regarding upcoming training/refresher training.

County staff who have critical continuity of operations roles within their departments will likely not be called to work as disaster service workers.

The County needs at least 150 employees ready to step in as 211 operators. If you’re interested, you will need to go through a two-hour training session.  Trainings are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 9 to 11 a.m. or from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and also on Monday, Sept. 22 from noon to 2 p.m. or from 2 to 4 p.m. They will be held at the ME’s Training Room, 5570 Overland Ave. at the County Operations Center.

County Local Assistance Center workers will help direct disaster survivors to local, state and federal resources that are available to them after a disaster.

Members of the County Shelter Team will be responsible for helping to manage and maintain an overnight shelter to house temporarily displaced residents during a disaster. Jobs will range from checking people in to setting up cots to helping to pass along the latest updates on the emergency event.

CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer reminds us all that helping is important and rewarding.

To begin, click just one of the three links below and you will be contacted about scheduling training for that emergency position.

•    County 2-1-1 Operator
•    County Shelter Team
•    County Local Assistance Center Worker

You might have to allow a program to run in order to view this video below of County employees who were trained to work as 2-1-1 operators during a previous wildfire disaster.