In Collinsville, there is a group of unpaid men and women who can be called upon at any time to respond to the scenes of emergencies, right alongside police and fire fighters.
Collinsville Emergency Management Agency vehicle / Photo by Roger Starkey
Most of these people spend their days at jobs. There is a nurse, a couple of truck drivers, some business owners, some are retired, but all of them volunteer their time as members of the Collinsville Emergency Management Agency.
They can receive a call at any time of the day or night, and Collinsville Fire Chief Mark Emert said they never refuse an assignment.
“I wish every city and every fire department, police department could have a group of people like these,” Emert said. “It really is crucial to what we do.”
CEMA Coordinator George Kroder said the volunteers control traffic and crowds — for which they undergo training — secure the scenes of emergencies and help hydrate the fire fighters. He said the volunteers collectively put in about 1,000 hours each year.
“We fill the gaps when the other departments have difficulties,” Kroder said.
Emert said he came to Collinsville from a town that did not have a local EMA. Without the volunteers, Emert said his job and the jobs of all the fire fighters in Collinsville would be “hugely different.”
“It would tie us up on a lot of scenes that they come in and they relieve us so we can get back and respond to other calls and get back to doing what we’re truly supposed to be doing at the time,” Emert said.
Emert said the volunteers are regularly an invaluable resource.
There was a night, Emert remembers, in which a three-alarm fire — indicating a higher level of response needed — broke out on Rolling Oaks Drive. It was “excruciatingly hot and humid,” he said, and CEMA volunteers arrived to set up a tent with water, fans and cold towels for the fire fighters.
“There’s no doubt in my mind if they had not been there, we would have had some fire fighters suffering from heat exhaustion and been transported to a hospital,” Emert said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many times they’ve been there for us and we’ve utilized them and it’s saved a lot of personnel from having some bad endings or getting sick or anything else.”
The hydration of fire fighters, called rehabilitation, is an effort that some departments struggle with, Emert said.
“We don’t think twice about it here,” Emert said. “They just make it a priority to run around and check on everybody and make sure we all have what we need, which takes a huge burden away from incident commanders having to worry about dedicating people to rehab.”
Collinsville Police Chief Steve Evans said during some emergency situations, the police would have trouble securing the area without the help of CEMA.
“We’d have to call people in on overtime, if there’s a bad accident, to put up roadblocks while we handle the accident,” Evans said. “We don’t have the manpower to do that without their help or without overtime.”
Evans said CEMA members are passionate, volunteering their time often when most people are sleeping.
“They’re there for it and give their time to keep the scene safe, and really to help keep my people safe while they do their job,” Evans said.
CEMA Assistant Coordinator Lannie Altenberger, who first got involved in 1966, said despite retiring in 2003, he wants to continue helping first responders and his community. In fact, retirement, he said, has freed up his time so he can respond to more emergencies than ever.
Altenberger is the first person Kroder contacts when a request is received. Altenberger then prepares the repurposed ambulance CEMA uses to respond to emergencies, which contains barricades, cones, coolers filled with water and Gatorade, a tent, generator, portable lights and more.
“When I get there, whatever personnel we’re going to need, I let him know. He will get them out there,” Altenberger said. “I’m usually the very first one that’s on the scene.”
Helping out during emergencies has been a part of Altenberger’s life in a variety of ways. He was a member of the Collinsville Police Department, worked for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and has taught classes on emergency response at Southwestern Illinois College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Kroder, who first got involved in CEMA in 1969, also has a history of helping outside of the agency. He worked in Emergency Medical Services for the state, and before that, worked in the emergency rooms of two area hospitals.
Altenberger said he first wanted to get involved because he felt everyone should give something back to the place they live. He continues to do it now for the satisfaction that he is helping in some small way.
“I can kind of do the hump-drum stuff, close the road off, and then [police and fire fighters] can get back out on whatever they’re doing,” Altenberger said.
When he is not volunteering, Altenberger said he spends time with his grandchildren.
“The wife and I, we just like to enjoy retirement,” Altenberger said.
Kroder works part-time as Collinsville’s Property Maintenance Inspector.
CEMA will be active this weekend at Italian Fest, controlling traffic during the 5K, parade and bicycle ride with police, as well as giving a lesson in the use of a fire extinguisher at the Collinsville Fire Department’s open house from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
