[March 03, 2010] Conference seeking increase in disaster communications Tweet ENID, Mar 02, 2010 (Enid News and Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A daylong conference Saturday at Northern Oklahoma College Enid seeks to increase communication between groups and emergency officials in case of a disaster. "If you represent a church, civic group or other organization that provides volunteers, facilities or other resources to the community in the event of a disaster, please plan to attend this informative one-day event," said Enid Fire Marshal Ken Helms. "Through this conference we hope to learn how various groups and individuals can work together effectively in response to local disasters." He said the purpose of the meeting was to increase communication between emergency responders and providers of relief and assistance. "Whenever there is a larger disaster that is more visible, everybody wants to help," Helms said. Often, disasters bring forward "spontaneous volunteers," Helms said, but working effectively with those volunteers can be difficult in the middle of a disaster. Helms also said officials don't know who those volunteers are or what they are capable of doing. Working with organizations, such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, that often utilize volunteers on a regular basis could increase effectiveness of those volunteers. Emergency officials will be present during the conference, as well as representatives from the Salvation Army, Cimarron Valley chapter of American Red Cross, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Life EMS, Garfield County Health Department, St. Mary's Regional Medical Center and Integris Bass Baptist Health Center. "This conference is really just the first step toward establishing communication and networking among those groups," Helms said. The conference begins with registration from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Gantz Center at NOC. Registration includes breakfast provided by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, as they would prepare it at a disaster site. Lunch will be provided Salvation Army To see more of the Enid News & Eagle or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.enidnews.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Enid News and Eagle, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]