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5.9.6 Volunteers

1. Keep Volunteers Informed – “As much as possible, volunteers should be kept fully informed of policies, event status, and expectations in recognition of their value as team members.”
   Firestorm 2003: Provincial Review

2. Use Volunteers as Field Observers or in a Support Role – “Retired firefighters, law enforcement, and citizens were used as field observers to provide leaders with situation awareness of the fire behavior in urban areas. Observers were mobile or placed on high ground, towers, or tanks.”
   Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
   
   “Rather than trying to fight the wildfires, a more appropriate role for volunteers in emergency situations would be to help deliver a whole range of social and community-based services, especially for people evacuated from their homes.”
   Firestorm 2003: Provincial Review

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February 7, 2006
Publication #FHWA–HOP-08-015