Heroes Among Us: The Volunteers Behind Flagler County Emergency Management

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – When most people think about emergency management, they picture emergency operations centers, weather forecasts, and disaster response teams.

What many don’t see are the volunteers quietly helping make it all possible.

According to Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord, volunteers have become one of the department’s most valuable resources.

“We have an amazing team of volunteers that keeps growing every year,” Lord said. “Honestly, we couldn’t do our jobs without them.”

Today, Flagler County Emergency Management has approximately 30 active volunteers—the largest volunteer corps the department has ever had.

To remain active, volunteers contribute an average of four hours per week, though many donate significantly more time.

Their impact is substantial.

“They’ve provided well over $175,000 worth of services that otherwise would have had to have been funded,” Lord said.

Visitors to the Emergency Operations Center may not realize it, but the front desk is staffed entirely by volunteers.

“Our front desk is staffed five days a week, 100 percent by volunteers,” Lord noted.

The volunteers perform administrative duties, assist residents, support preparedness initiatives, and help the department maintain a visible presence throughout the community.

Their value becomes even greater during emergencies.

Those 30 trained volunteers serve as a force multiplier for the department’s small staff of five employees. During major disasters, they are joined by hundreds of additional volunteers from nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, and community partners.

“Hundreds more volunteers force multiply in an actual disaster,” Lord said.

These volunteers help distribute supplies, provide information to residents, assist with shelter operations, coordinate donations, and support recovery efforts long after the storm has passed.

The program reflects a broader philosophy embraced by Emergency Management.

“We force multiply to make ourselves bigger by reassigning staff from other county departments, municipalities, nonprofit groups and volunteers,” Lord explained.

For Lord, the success of emergency management isn’t measured solely by government resources. It’s measured by how communities work together.

From answering phones and greeting visitors to supporting recovery operations after a disaster, volunteers continue to prove that preparedness is truly a community effort.

“Other than that,” Lord said modestly, “they really are a huge part of our emergency management program.”