Volunteers plan to step in when disasters strike Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS — When a large-scale emergency happens, such as the 2020 derecho or the 2008 flood, Linn County turns to the county emergency management team to organize response efforts.

But the Linn County Emergency Management Agency has only five staff members, enough to manage the day-to-day affairs of emergency preparedness. Those five people need help when responding to a large-scale disaster.

That’s why, for the past two years, the county has been training a volunteer Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. Volunteers are trained in skills needed in the organization and operation of an emergency response.

Those skills include managing donations, operating large shelters, assisting with search efforts and filling organizational roles at the emergency operations center — where county and city leaders and first responders gather to determine response plans.

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“Jobs with the (Emergency Response Team) can be anything from helping with message control to food service. Food service is a big deal in an operations center when you’re feeding 60 people,” said Tom Ulrich, the Linn County Emergency Management Agency’s operations officer.

Ulrich said it’s common for people to show up en masse after an emergency has happened and offer to volunteer, but it can take time to determine what those volunteers know how to do and how they can best help.

Having a trained team makes that process easier.

“We’re only five people here at emergency management, and without our volunteers, we can’t operate,” Ulrich said. “So them being willing to take the official training and become very good at what they do, that just takes a huge weight off of our shoulders.“

‘Likes to help’

The volunteer team has 22 members, several of whom have been with the team since it started in 2021.

Daniel Hoffmann had been volunteering as a radio communicator with Linn County Emergency Management and was excited to join the emergency response team when it started.

“I’m a person who likes to help people,” Hoffmann said. “Over the years, I’ve seen the need for Linn County EMA to have available volunteers who are trained to do things.”

Hoffmann works in grounds and building maintenance at Zion Lutheran Church in Hiawatha. Many of the other volunteers are retired.

Chris Weininger recently retired from working at Van Meter, an electrical supply company. He also worked at the Hiawatha Fire Department until 2016.

Weininger said he enjoys volunteering for CERT because he is able to use the background he gained in the fire department.

“A lot of the knowledge pours over,” Weininger said.

Toyota Financial donates equipment

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Gayle Seehusen also enjoys using her background as an emergency volunteer. A nurse and trained CPR instructor, she later worked for Toyota Financial and was part of its business emergency response team.

“I am really into community service. I think this is definitely a needed service for Cedar Rapids,” Seehusen said. “I went through the flood. I went through the derecho. We weren’t a CERT team at that time, but Cedar Rapids could have really utilized us.”

Last year, Toyota Financial moved one of its offices out of Cedar Rapids and had emergency supplies it didn’t need any more. Seehusen arranged for the items to be donated to the Linn County CERT team.

“It’s equipment that we would have probably not been able to obtain for a long time,” Ulrich said. “Everything from shovels to portable restroom units. It was really designed for disaster response.”

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This year, emergency management obtained a grant to buy a trailer to store equipment so it can be easily transported, rather than having it spread across a warehouse in Hiawatha.

Geneva Tower fire response

The only emergency the team has responded to so far has been the Feb. 20, 2022, fire at Geneva Tower, 310 Fifth Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids.

Residents of the 12-story apartment building — most of whom are elderly or disabled — had to leave their homes for several days. The county’s emergency response team helped run a shelter that was set up by the American Red Cross at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.

“They actually came down to observe how things operate for a shelter, and they ended up helping move the people and move the equipment,” Ulrich said. “The team wasn’t really prepared for that, but they jumped in and helped the Red Cross and just gave them some extra hands setting things up.”

Training needed

CERT training takes 22 hours and is offered by the county only a few times a year.

Anyone can join the team and start attending the monthly CERT meetings — typically, a few hours long — but they won’t be fully trained until they complete the 22-hour class.

The next training round will be offered in February, with two eight-hour sessions on Feb. 10 and Feb. 17, and one four-hour session the evening of Feb. 21.

The classes have limited spots, which will be offered first to CERT volunteers who aren’t yet trained. The rest of the seats will be offered to community members interested in learning about emergency preparedness, even if they may not be interested in joining the volunteer team.

Those interested in joining the team or completing the training can find more information on the Linn County Emergency Management Agency’s website at linncounty-ema.org.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com

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