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Photo by Ray Pettengell Disaster relief volunteers learn to lift an injured person on a blanket to get him away from danger. They were part of a class of two dozen Ashlanders who graduated from an eight-week course. Volunteers primed for disaster relief 24 graduates ready for emergencies By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- Come flood. Come fire. Come Y2K. Ashland is ready. The city has graduated its first class of two dozen disaster volunteers who will be able to assess damage, organize other volunteers, apply splints to broken bones and rescue people trapped in collapsed buildings if disaster should befall their town. "Fire departments are prepared to deal with every eventuality -- from car crashes to fire -- but in a natural disaster like a flood, wildfire, or earthquake, or some man-made disaster like a gas line explosion or hazardous materials spill, the rescuers' abilities would be overwhelmed," said Councilman David Fine, one of the graduates from the eight-week disaster course."If it's a regionwide thing, mutual aid won't help. "You need households to take care of themselves, but beyond that you need neighbors to take care of their own neighborhoods." Fine said that in a major earthquake, for instance, the entire fire department could be busy rescuing kids from a collapsed school. But there are eight schools in Ashland alone and thousands of homes and businesses. That's where the volunteers come in. Called Community Emergency Rescue Teams, the trained volunteers will assess their own neighborhoods and inform police of the extent of the disaster. It will help officials get professional help to the places it's most needed. Equally important, the volunteers will know how to help those in need of rescue or medical aid without getting themselves killed. "In Mexico City during the earthquake, 800 people were saved by citizen volunteers -- at the price of the lives of 100 volunteers," said firefighter Rees Jones. "One of our goals is to do rescuing without losing the lives of the rescuers." Medford fire officials are planning on organizing a similar program in their city, said Phil Kessler, administrative chief in the fire department. Information on the program is expected to be available this summer. Ashland hopes to have 300 people trained by the end of the year, said fire division chief Sue Shulters. Volunteers for the program commit to buying $150 to $200 of equipment, and must attend an eight-week course and ongoing training. They are issued blue vests and hard hats. "They are prepared to handle any emergency," Shulters said. "They carry everything they need to survive for 72 hours." Another goal of the program is to strengthen neighborhoods by encouraging people to work together, Shulters said. "Years ago the neighborhoods were very strong, but you don't have the backyard barbecues anymore," she said. "This ties the unit back together." The program was designed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and has nearly 60 working groups across the United States. There's been a program in Portland since 1985. It has 800 volunteers, said Rachel Jacky, manager of community emergency services for the Portland Fire Bureau. The volunteers have worked in a number of emergencies and been activated for two disasters: a wind storm in 1995 and a flood in 1996. When the wind storm knocked over power lines around town, volunteers watched the lines and kept others safe while firefighters put out blazes around the city. During the flood of 1996, the volunteers were essential in organizing sandbagging details and providing transportation for injured people, Jacky said. Other times, like during a winter ice storm in 1997 when the power was out for days, volunteers checked on the frail elderly in their neighborhoods. "It worked amazingly," Jacky said. At a training session Thursday in Ashland, volunteers rolled a 215-pound man, who feigned unconsciousness and injury, onto a blanket so he could dragged out of danger. They also freed a dummy from a pile of tangled heavy rubble, taking care to avoid any action that would injure a real person. Mechanic Richard Baize said he's volunteering because he loves Ashland, where both he and his wife grew up. "I feel an obligation to my neighborhood in times of trouble," he said. "You could relate it to an Amish barn raising." Anyone interested in volunteering for the Ashland CERT should call Shulters at 482-2770. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA