Citizens Corps gets FEMA award

If there's a disaster in Cottonwood Heights, there is a plan to contact and report the status of each home in some neighborhoods within minutes.

So far, the plan covers about one-third of the city, thanks to volunteers who have organized communication efforts among public safety workers, radio operators and community groups, city officials said.

With only about 35 police officers and 17 staffers, there's no way the city can do everything during an emergency to assist about 33,000 residents, said City Manager Liane Stillman.

"How can that few people go through the entire city and stop and help people?" she said. "You have to volunteer."

That's one of the reasons Cottonwood Heights Citizen Corps was chosen this month ahead of similar groups nationwide to receive the Collaborative Preparedness Planning Award.

This is the first year for the National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Citizen Corps, which began in 2002, works to unite government, community leaders and residents in emergency preparedness.

There are about 2,300 groups nationwide, said Derek Jensen, FEMA's Region 8 spokesman. About 100 citizen corps applied for at least one of the eight awards.

Cottonwood Heights Citizen Corps -- also known as the Cottonwood Heights' Emergency Preparedness Team -- received a plaque at the 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness earlier this month outside Washington, D.C.

Cottonwood Heights Councilman Gordon Thomas and Roger Kehr, the city's volunteer emergency communications director, received a paid trip through FEMA to receive the award.

Cottonwood Heights Citizen Corps is a good example of a group who has established great partnerships among fire, law enforcement, utilities, residents and community groups, Jensen said.

"That kind of coordination helps emergency responders prioritize where the most urgent needs are," Jensen said. "It helps the response be much more efficient."

Stillman said the city's disaster plans are an ongoing effort because they involve complicated issues, from dealing with the access of public buildings to obtaining equipment and figuring out what to do with pets.

Still, officials said it's crucial for families to have individual emergency plans because surviving the first 72 hours of a disaster is up to residents.

"Both the government and residents have to be ready to do their part," Stillman said.

jsanchez@sltrib.com