Looking for a way to give back in 2023? Did you know that the City of Naperville has an Emergency Management Agency? The agency works to prepare the city for emergencies of all sorts. And a key part of the agency is a group of 30+ volunteers that help in a variety of ways. The Naperville Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is looking for more volunteers. If you would like to help your fellow citizens in a unique way, read on.
NEMA’s volunteer staff is organized into three units
Weather and Communications Unit: This team tracks severe weather headed toward the city, especially during our major events such as marathons, festivals and parades.
The team works with the National Weather Service to provide detailed weather information to the City and makes go/no-go recommendations during major events.
Field Unit: This is a team of “utility players” that are called upon by the Police and Fire departments to assist at major planned (parades and festivals) and unplanned incidents (fires and major traffic accidents). This team has the resources to illuminate an area at night with boom mounted lights (14kw worth!), deploy the City’s Mobile Operation Center, assist in traffic and crowd control responds to 15-20 planned and unplanned events per year 24x7x365 and does monthly training on equipment and procedures.
Search and Rescue Unit: This team works inside and outside the city, usually in concert with other Illinois SAR teams, to look for missing person or evidence. This team combs thorough forest preserves, farm field, neighborhoods using methods learned during Illinois Search and Rescue Council training sessions. The team responds to 6-15 searches per year (in ALL weather conditions), and participates in monthly training sessions locally and with other area teams.
If any of those sound interesting to you, please review information at the NEMA website and fill out an application.
