Fifty volunteers from the Northern Emergency Support Services team (NESS) gathered in Burns Lake last month to devote three days of their time and energy to better prepare themselves to help others cope with a disaster.
The volunteers with NESS are a group of Northern British Columbia citizens who help residents displaced from their homes due to disasters such as house fires, wildfires and flooding.
The provincial government funded NESS program can provide up to 72 hours of service for accommodation, food and some incidentals to people forced from their homes due to a disaster. The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) provides training and support to NESS volunteers and staff in the communities of Smithers, Fort St. James, Vanderhoof, Houston and Burns Lake.
There were 120 homes evacuated and 574 homes on alert due to the China Nose fire. Members of the local NESS team provided services to some of these people during that time.
The first evacuation alert on China Nose went out on Aug. 12 and was rescinded on Aug. 28 while the evacuation order came into effect Aug. 13 and ended Aug. 18. An order means residents must leave their home and an alert indicates people may be required to leave their homes on short notice. The regional district did not have the actual numbers of people helped during the China Nose evacuation.
The main service NESS volunteers provide is help for people dealing with a house fire.
Residents of RDBN suffering from a house fire and who live outside of a village fire protection area phone 911 first to get a police response before they call the RDBN for a level one service. A level one service means help from the region for a small number of people affected by a house fire.
Once the RDBN gets the call from the affected residents the NESS program swings into action by having a local volunteer meet the person at a public place, help them fill out the forms and get them into a hotel.
Although the NESS program has been around for a long time, this was only the second annual training weekend. Officials are hoping to hold it next year in different community.
Anyone is welcome to fill out an application to volunteer for NESS training and exercise. Because forms must be administered by trained NESS volunteers in order to be valid, the Northern Emergency Support Services team are always looking for volunteers. For more information call the RDBN at 1-800-320-3339 or 250-692-3195 or visit their website at www.rdbn.bc.ca.