Hazelton Emergency Support Services could use a few more helping hands.
Volunteer Stanley Walker said they currently have only five members but would like to have 10 in total.
ESS provides short-term basic support to people impacted by disasters.
He said they meet once a month and there is no experience necessary.
"We are looking for volunteers that are good with people," he said. "It also helps to have a compassionate heart."
Courses are optional, he added.
Anyone interested in joining can contact Walker at 250-877-7197.
Meanwhile, Bulkley Valley ESS would also ideally like a few more volunteers. The branch recently did some online recruiting and currently have about 35 volunteers but Director Matt Herzog said another 10 would be good.
"It takes a lot of people to run a reception centre and to do group lodging and to help support people during evacuations, so the more the merrier," he said.
Herzog explained that Emergency Support Services provides services to those who have been evacuated from their homes due to anything from a house fire to a large-scale community disaster.
ESS volunteers work with local fire departments, victim services, health ER services and other agencies to ensure people are taken care of during their most difficult times. During large-scale evacuation ESS volunteers open emergency reception centres, emergency group lodging centres and emergency Information centres for families to gather and receive services after an event.
These centres ensure evacuees are registered for services, receive services, and can access additional services outside of the provincial emergency support services program. ESS volunteers also operate recovery centres or return-to-home centres after an emergency when it's safe to go back.
He said there is also work being done to create a regional program.
"We need Houston and Granisle volunteers," he explained. "We need people from all over the region to get a hold of their emergency support services team and join and become involved, because when these large evacuations happen, when we have to open up reception centres, it takes a lot of people, and we have to be able to support each other."
Herzog said building resilient communities is based on volunteerism.
He added that living in northern British Columbia means during a large-scale event everyone has to come together to support the affected communities, evacuees and their families.
"In the very recent past during local emergencies, volunteers were needed and the call for help went out and volunteers answered the call, from Terrace to Prince George, as far away as Saanich, Mission, and Kamloops," he recalled.
"The 2023 wildfires started later in the season for our southern neighbours allowing some of them to come help us. Had our events started the same time as theirs, they would not have been able to come and help.
"For this reason, we need to bolster our volunteer numbers here in the Northwest. We need volunteers in Hazelton, Witset, Smithers, Telkwa, Houston and Gransile.
"We need the volunteers to respond to house fires and other smaller events and we need the numbers to staff large emergency reception centres and group lodging centres. On average, it takes 50 ESS Volunteers to staff these centres as host communities. We are looking for each community to have a strong number of ESS volunteers so we can all come together during a major event and support each other."
Anyone interested in volunteering with Bulkley Valley ESS can email bulkleyess@smithers.ca
