Volunteer Corps

A local team of trained volunteers that can be activated by the local government during emergency or crisis situations to support the professional emergency services.

The municipal volunteer corps is an initiative of Flemish Deputy Minister-President Hilde Crevits in cooperation with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders.  

Volunteer corps support professional emergency services and complement existing emergency response systems. 

While specialized responders are indispensable during disasters, many additional hands are also needed for other administrative, logistical, and operational tasks. Volunteer corps can be deployed for tasks such as: 

• food distribution; 
• cleanup after flooding; 
• filling sandbags in the event of a flood; 
• help set up shelters. 

Volunteers never take the place of professional emergency responders. By training volunteers in first aid, we help foster a more self-reliant population.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders a central role in establishing and coordinating volunteer corps. Among other things, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders responsible for: 

• the development and management of the digital crisis tool; 
• the registration and training of volunteers; 
• providing 24/7 on-call service so that every request for assistance is addressed immediately. 

A request for help is activated once the following four review criteria are met:

• There is an acute or emerging crisis situation (e.g., extreme weather conditions, local emergencies, disruption of basic services);
• The social impact is large enough to justify external support;
• The safety and employability of volunteers can be ensured;
• The request for help cannot be answered to the maximum by regular government services or professional social workers, or is not within their exclusive competence.

Example 1 - validated request for help: Due to flooding, some streets are impassable and elderly people cannot get out of their homes. (Motivation: acute emergency, social impact, deployable and safe role of volunteers, not exclusive competence of professional responders). 

Example 2 - denied request for help: a municipality wants to use volunteers to clean up a gym after a party (Reason: no acute need, no social impact). 

No. We obviously respect local autonomy, so participation is completely voluntary. When a municipality registers and commits itself, further communication and guidance follows from Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. Municipalities are taken care of as much as possible, financially and administratively. 

Specifically, the congregation commits to:

• To apply for the project at www.rodekruis.be/vrijwilligerskorps; 

•  Launch a call to residents through locally available communication and recruitment channels to register for the municipal volunteer corps (after signing a cooperation agreement with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders), Belgian Red Cross-Flanders provides communication templates that the municipality can use without obligation;

• To register as an aid applicant on the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders digital crisis tool;

• Establish a volunteer corps (minimum 10 volunteers);

• Designate a point of contact;

• Designate who within the municipality may launch aid requests through the crisis tool (mayor and/or emergency planning coordinator preferred);

• refresher course volunteers refresher course basic training and an annual refresher course (organized by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders funded through the Flemish program);

• To use the crisis tool (together with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders) in a crisis or emergency situation.

A basic training course can be scheduled once at least 20 prospective volunteers have registered for a municipality. The training course will only be scheduled once 20 prospective volunteers have registered.

Yes. We expect at least 10 prospective volunteers to register for the training in order for it to take place. If fewer than 10 prospective volunteers have registered for the basic training, we will ask to cancel or reschedule it. 

No, you can also fill out the page to learn more about the project. Once you apply, we will contact you to further explain the initiative and answer any questions immediately. Only after the creation is approved at the city council and the cooperation agreement with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is signed, citizens can apply for your volunteer corps. 

The project is funded by the Flemish government. In a first phase, the Flemish government provides funding for the expansion of a municipal corps to a maximum of 80 members. Local councils that wish to develop a larger corps can do so from the 81st member with their own funds. We will evaluate the upper limit of 80 members every year. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is responsible for training (basic training, refresher course, simulation exercises), insurance, 24/7 permanence by crisis coordinator, development and maintenance of the digital crisis tool, and receives the necessary funding from the Flemish government.

It is a shared responsibility between Belgian Red Cross-Flanders and the municipality. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is responsible for much of the management:

• Registration and administration;
• Follow-up training and refresher course;
• Communication with volunteers related to refresher courses and simulation exercises;
• Practical support in alerting the volunteer corps (decision to alert can only be made by the municipality). 

In the field, operational direction is taken by the municipality actors present there, who know the area well. If desired and needed, the crisis coordinator may also arrive on site.

No. Organizing intake or selection interviews is not a mandatory part of the project.

Local governments make these decisions independently, based on their own needs and operations.

No. The volunteer corps is a complement, not a replacement. Volunteers perform supportive and complementary tasks and provide social impact at the local level. They never replace regular responders. 

No, the municipality does not have to register with the government as well. Once you have registered via our landing page, we will contact you to explain the next steps of the process (approval by the municipal council and signing of the cooperation agreement with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders). Reporting to Flanders about which municipalities set up a corps is also done entirely through Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. The municipality itself does not have to report on this.

It is great to hear that you have already established a volunteer corps in your community. We encourage you to link this volunteer corps to the operation offered by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. We are happy to discuss with you how this can be done practically. 

The establishment of a volunteer corps is the autonomous decision of each individual municipality. If you and a few neighboring municipalities still prefer to set up an intermunicipal corps, this is possible. The municipalities will then be treated as 1 municipality in the crisis tool, which means that in case of an emergency call, the entire intermunicipal corps will receive the call. It is then not possible to launch a call for corps volunteers from one specific partner from your intermunicipal corps.

Our standard offering is a volunteer corps for each municipality. Municipalities wishing to cooperate can register separately, establish their own volunteer corps, and then give permission to their joint emergency planning coordinator to launch calls for help for each municipality. In this case, however, it is possible to call the volunteer corps of one (or a few) municipality(s) in some cases. 

Through this link you will find an overview of municipalities and cities that have indicated their interest in establishing a municipal volunteer corps. Please note that the establishment is only formal after the decision of the municipal council to do so, and after the signing of the cooperation agreement between the municipality and Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. To find out if you can already sign up for your municipality's volunteer corps, we recommend following the municipal communication channels. 

Yes. Local chapters are kept informed at several scheduled intervals throughout the entire process of a municipality establishing a volunteer corps.

The process for notifying the department is as follows:

• When a municipality registers via the landing page or contacts Belgian Red Cross-Flanders directly, the branch chairperson for the relevant area is informed first, before the substantive process with the municipality proceeds.
• When Belgian Red Cross-Flanders invited by a municipality to provide an explanation or participate in a consultation, the branch chair is informed of the time and location. The branch chair may attend if desired.
• Once the cooperation agreement between the local government and Belgian Red Cross-Flanders has been signed, the chapter president Belgian Red Cross-Flanders notified again. This notification will also explicitly ask whether the chapter company first aid or willing company first aid nominate a volunteer company first aid to provide training for the volunteer corps.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders: crisisvrijwilligers@rodekruis.be 

• Step 1 is always the local government’s own application. Only then is it the citizens’ turn;
• Belgian Red Cross-Flanders provides a registration link specific to a municipality where citizens can register for the volunteer corps. So interested citizens best keep an eye on the municipality's communication channels;
• Citizens sign up through the link shared by their municipality;
• Once at least 20 volunteers have registered, the municipality will organize Belgian Red Cross-Flanders basic training in collaboration with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders ;
• Registered citizens will receive an email and can register for the training;
• Citizens attend basic first aid training (hybrid training: 0.5 day via e-learning and 1 day on-site);
• At the end of the training, citizens register in the crisis tool and are assigned to the municipality's corps. They can then be called upon for requests for help; 
• Members of the volunteer corps receive an SMS when there is an urgent request for help. Through a link in the SMS, they can indicate if they are coming to help, and receive more information about the request for help;
• Deployment is on a voluntary per-call basis, with support and coordination by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders;
• In the field, the steering of volunteers is basically taken up by local actors, who have knowledge about the field; 
• When deployed via the crisis tool, members of the volunteer corps are covered by the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders for civil liability (BA) and personal accident (LO);
• The volunteer corps takes an annual refresher course (1/2 day), alternating between digital and on-site.

The minimum age is 16. You must also be able to show a clean criminal record. As a volunteer, you must be willing to attend basic training (1.5 days) and an annual refresher course . After completing the basic training, the volunteer is a member of the volunteer corps and can be called upon during emergencies. 

Each local government can decide to establish a volunteer corps with a minimum size of 10 members. The Flemish government initially provides funding for the expansion of a municipal corps to a maximum of 80 members. Local councils that wish to develop a larger corps can finance the compulsory basic training with their own funds from the 81st member onwards. We will evaluate the upper limit of 80 members every year.

Yes. When deployed via the crisis tool, members of the volunteer corps are covered by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders insurance policies Belgian Red Cross-Flanders civil liability (BA) and personal accident (LO). Members of the volunteer corps are also Belgian Red Cross-Flanders by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders during training, refresher course simulation exercises. 

In case of a request for spontaneous help - where non-educated citizens can also help - the volunteers are also insured, if the request for help was launched via the crisis tool and validated by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders.

Volunteer Corps can be a valuable complement to our regular operation in times of crisis. Corps volunteers are therefore complementary to regular emergency services and never act in their place. They perform complementary tasks and thus do not walk alongside Red Cross volunteers. They walk alongside, and alongside the other Disciplines. Nor will they ever be mixed. Each has its own duties, and its own direction. Because Corps volunteers provide the more practical (administrative, logistical, operational) assistance, Red Cross volunteers can focus on the more specialized tasks for which they are trained.

The volunteer corps does not fall within the departmental operation. They are not directed by the department chairman, but rather by the local board. They are municipal volunteers, called only at the request of the local board. 

Yes. Volunteer company first aid instructors company first aid a local Red Cross chapter may conduct these training sessions, provided they have completed the specific refresher course e-learning) for volunteer corps.

Once the partnership agreement has been signed, the relevant department will be notified and asked if they can provide a volunteer instructor. This commitment is never mandatory.

The commitment must always be consistent with the availability and schedules of the volunteer instructors. The responsibility for scheduling and coordinating the lessons lies with the headquarters of Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, and is always carried out in consultation with the local administration.

If no volunteer instructor is available, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders will Belgian Red Cross-Flanders upon a professional instructor.

Emergency response volunteers from a Red Cross chapter play a key role within the crisis response chain, specifically within Discipline 2. They perform specialized tasks that require more advanced and specific training than that required of members of the municipal volunteer corps.

For existing actors within the crisis response chain, including Red Cross emergency service volunteers, the establishment of a volunteer corps does not change their roles or responsibilities. The Red Cross branch does not exercise hierarchical control over the municipal volunteer corps. The management and deployment of the volunteer corps are always handled by the local government.

Emergency response volunteers do not automatically become members of the volunteer corps! We encourage emergency response volunteers to prioritize their specialized duties within the relief service. We want to avoid scheduling conflicts during a crisis, where a volunteer might have to choose between two calls.

None of the current Red Cross volunteers automatically become members of a volunteer corps. However, they all have the freedom to choose whether or not to do so. We suspect that some volunteers from disciplines other than the relief service SIS, who currently have no role in disaster preparedness, may choose to join the volunteer corps on their own initiative.

Basic First Aid training (hybrid: ½ day via e-learning + 1 day on-site) includes;

• Life-saving operations (e.g., CPR with AED);
• Treatment of injuries, fractures, burns;
• Practical practice sessions in small group; 
• The role of the volunteer corps in the crisis chain;
• Registration in the crisis tool;
• ...

The digital portion (e-learning) must be taken before the on-site training day. 

The volunteer corps performs administrative, logistical and operational tasks that are complementary to the existing emergency response systems. By training them in First Aid, we contribute to creating a more self-reliant population. 

No. There is no test or exam associated with the volunteer corps training program.

The digital component (e-learning) is mandatory, as it serves as essential preparation for the in-person training day. During the on-site training, participants will undergo continuous assessment; there is no separate exam.

Prospective volunteers who have obtained a valid first aid certificate recognized Belgian Red Cross-Flanders equivalent by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders may be granted an exemption. An exemption is only granted if the first aid training or refresher course was refresher course within the last 12 months. For volunteers with an exemption, only the annual refresher course simulation exercise are funded.

No. Volunteers who are granted an exemption must still register in the crisis management tool. 

This is required in order to be available as a volunteer. They do not need to register on the training platform or complete the exempted training.

A basic training course may be canceled if the minimum number of 10 registered participants is not reached or due to unforeseen circumstances.

In that case, we will work with the municipality to determine when a new training session can be scheduled, as soon as there are enough volunteer candidates.

The training sessions are organized by Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. At the request of a local authority and in consultation with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, these sessions of basic first aid training can possibly be given by the Vlaams Kruis, or another partner who meets the quality charter for first aid lessons.

A request for help can be submitted by the municipality (mayor or emergency planning coordinator). The municipality launches the request for help via the crisis tool and calls our number 105. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders provides 24/7 permanence by a coordinator, so that every request for help is followed up immediately. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders validates requests for help and alerts the corps volunteers, at the request of the municipality. Only the municipality has the right to decide to call up the corps. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders will support the practical alerting of the volunteer corps. In the field, operational direction will be taken by the municipality actors present there, who know the field well. If wanted and needed, the crisis coordinator can also come on site.

Yes. In intermunicipal partnerships, a single person in need of assistance can be linked to multiple volunteer groups within the crisis management system.

The specific arrangements and responsibilities will be coordinated in consultation with Belgian Red Cross-Flanders to ensure that requests for assistance are directed to the appropriate units.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders validates all requests for help before activation. An assistance request is activated if it meets 4 assessment criteria. The slide below shows the criteria and gives some examples of requests for help which are/are not validated. 

If the emergency situation requires more support than the municipal volunteer corps can provide, a request for spontaneous assistance can be launched to which any citizen can subscribe (even those who are not members of the volunteer corps). Anyone who does so via the crisis tool is also insured via Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. This way, a lot of people in emergency situations can be mobilized on short notice. 

The personal protective equipment (PPE) required for specific tasks is provided by the local government. The type of PPE needed depends on the nature of the assignment. The local government should seek advice from its own safety advisor and the NPC. The use of equipment is always tailored to safe, low-risk tasks within the volunteer corps.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders vests for all members of the municipal volunteer corps. Standardized vests ensure that the corps are easily recognizable throughout Flanders. These vests are provided free of charge to local authorities. They should only be worn during actual operations. We recommend storing these vests in a central location, such as a disaster response kit.

After launching your call in the crisis tool, immediately dial the number 105. Through that number you reach our Dispatch with 24/7 permanence. Our dispatch immediately contacts the crisis coordinator to validate the request for help and support you in the practical alerting of the volunteer corps. The waiting time is thus limited to a few minutes.