The Penticton Emergency Support Services team is seeking a few more community members to join the team as volunteers to help Penticton be more prepared for emergencies, such as house fires, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, or other emergencies.
With recent retirements from the team and the addition of capacity to the Penticton ESS program, there are spots currently open for community members interested in joining the ESS team. To apply, please visit www.penticton.ca/VolunteerWithESS or email ess@penticton.ca or call 250.490.2512.
The application form is open until September 26, 2022. Interviews and police checks will take place in October and November with new team members expected to join the team as of January 1, 2023. Volunteers receive robust training from both the Justice Institute of BC online, and senior Penticton ESS team members.
In the last few years, the Penticton ESS team supported evacuees during the 2020 Christie Mountain wildfire, 20 different wildfires and floods in 2021, and over 660 evacuees so far in 2022 due to:
- seven house fires with a combined total of 55 evacuees,
- Two hotel/motel fires with a combined total of 125 evacuees,
- Keremeos Creek Wildfire with 463 evacuees, and
- May and July rain events with a combined 21 evacuees.
Volunteers should be comfortable working in a very busy environment, with a computer or technology, able to pass criminal record checks, and must complete all training.
“We are so lucky to have such tremendous ESS team members in our community,” said Mayor John Vassilaki. “I would like to personally thank each one of our volunteers for their willingness to ensure Penticton is ready to respond when an emergency arises, and encourage those comfortable working with computers and speaking with evacuees to consider joining the ESS team.”
The team is currently recruiting volunteers for four key roles. A full description of the volunteer roles is available online.
- Greeter at the reception centre – the first individual to greet evacuees when the evacuees enter the Reception Centre. Explains the next step in the process to evacuees.
- Registration and referral of evacuees – help evacuees complete their ESS registration and provide referrals to various supports. Must be comfortable using computers and speaking with evacuees.
- Documentation room – help organize, file, and, using spreadsheets, provide aggregate information about evacuees being supported.
- Group lodging – provide temporary accommodations in a group facility (e.g., gymnasium floor) to evacuees that have no other accommodation option
Two drop-in information sessions for interested volunteers are on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at the old bus barn located at 199 Ellis Street, Penticton. The first session is from 9-11am, and the second is from 4-6pm. No registration is required, and it is a drop-in format. For more information, please email the Penticton ESS team at ess@penticton.ca or call 250.490.2512.