After disasters, authorities request that no more volunteers assist. Why?

Don't the victims need help?

We all want to help. At times of emergency, many of us feel driven to help. That is why we are part of Community Emergency Response Teams.

Disaster response and relief must follow the Incident Command System structure. The logistics of scheduling volunteer teams can become overwhelming, especially when there is a nationwide and international response as there was to New York after September 11. Los Angeles sent 3 Urban Search and Rescue Teams to New York. Multiply that response by the number of cities, states and even nations which have responded, and you can see there are enough people working shoulder to shoulder at the site already.

What we can do during an emergency is to remain ready and prepared in our own neighborhoods. It is not outside the realm of possibility that a terrorist attack could occur in the Los Angeles area. While our ace USAR teams are occupied elsewhere, the job of first response could be ours. Our duty and our best aid to the disaster relief effort is to remain prepared to respond right where we are.