Arkansas Fire Services
The Arkansas Fire Service is comprised of 1003 fire departments. 28 of those departments are staffed by career, fully paid firefighters. The remaining 974 are either fully or partially staffed by volunteers. These departments are always looking for volunteers, not only for firefighting duties, but also to fill support roles. Anyone interested in helping their local fire department should contact their local fire department, or email the ADEM Fire Services Office at [email protected]
Arkansas Citizens Corps Program
What is the Citizen Corps Program?
The mission of the Citizens Corps is to harness the power of every individual through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds. The Citizen Corps Program is composed of the five basic components listed below. For additional information regarding each program, contact the local partners listed, or visit the Ready.gov website listed below:
http://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps-partner-programs
- Community Emergency Response Team: This program educates people about disaster preparedness and provides basic disaster response training. For information regarding Arkansas CERT teams, please email [email protected].
- Fire Corps: Fire Corps promotes the use of citizen advocates to enhance the capacity of resource-constrained fire and rescue departments. Citizen advocates can assist local fire departments in a range of activities including fire safety outreach, youth programs, and administrative support.
- National Neighborhood Watch Program: Neighborhood Watch works to provide information, training and resources to citizens and law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Neighborhood Watch is administered by the National Sheriffs’ Association in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. For more information, please contact your local police or sheriff’s department.
- Medical Reserve Corps: This program strengthens communities by helping medical, public health and other volunteers offer their expertise throughout the year as well as during local emergencies and other times of community need. MRC volunteers work in coordination with existing local emergency response programs and also supplement existing community public health initiatives, such as outreach and prevention, immunization programs, blood drives, case management, care planning, and other efforts. The MRC program is administered by HHS. For more information on the Medical Reserve Corps in Arkansas, which is sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Health, please visit the following link:
https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/community-preparedness
- Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS): This program works to enhance the capacity of state and local law enforcement to utilize volunteers. VIPS serves as a gateway to resources and information for and about law enforcement volunteer programs. Funded by DOJ, VIPS is managed and implemented by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. For more information on the VIPS program, please contact your local chief of police.
If you are interested in signing up for the Arkansas Citizen Corps Program, please go to the following link and submit the application form:
Arkansas Registered Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs)
The following link will take you to the list of currently registered Community Emergency Response Teams that are active within the State of Arkansas:
https://www.citizencorps.fema.gov/cc/CertIndex.do?reportsForState&cert=&state=AR
INSPARK (INSpect ARKansas)
INSPARK (INSpect ARKansas) is a volunteer building inspection program that assesses buildings after disaster. These volunteers are certified through the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management using the basic principles and techniques identified through the Applied Technology Council 20 (ATC 20) course. This course teaches individuals how to identify safety issues of structures after a disaster. INSPARK is geared toward those with engineering or architecture backgrounds but incorporates other trades and professions, as well.
To become a member of the INSPARK Team, one must take an INSPARK approved course such as ATC20, ATC45, or their equivalent. After a course is taken, the interested individual should fill out an INSPARK Data Sheet. This datasheet allows the Decision Making Council of INSPARK to place individuals where they are most qualified. Training is required every three (3) calendar years to remain an active INSPARK Member.
To register for an INSPARK Approved Course, visit the training page. For additional information, contact the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management Earthquake Program Manager at (501) 683-6700.
