Emergency Response Team Member

About ACSTL

AmeriCorps St. Louis (ACSTL) is a nonprofit based in St. Louis, Missouri, that runs a 46-Member AmeriCorps National Service program. Our Emergency Response Team (ERT) was one of the first AmeriCorps programs to exist, since the inception of AmeriCorps National Service, and has been operational every year since 1994. Our ERT program has three areas of focus: Disaster Response, Environmental Stewardship, and Wildland Fire. Our motto is “See The Need, Meet The Need,” which we take to heart in everything we do, as we always strive to reach those who are least served, last served, or never served.

Position Description

As part of our 46-Member Emergency Response Team (ERT), you will gain experience and training in the fields of environmental stewardship, wildland fire, and disaster response over the course of an 11-month AmeriCorps National Service term. The ERT functions as a conservation corps that assists partner organizations with vital natural resource management and restoration projects, including trail building and maintenance, habitat restoration, invasive species removal, and prescribed burning. The ERT also acts as a multi-functional rapid deployment group able to respond throughout the country to floods, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and other disasters. The service term operates from September through August, with ACSTL operating as many as eight crews at a time throughout Missouri, Illinois, and/or on disaster deployment. Teams complete projects in partnership with non-profit, local, state, and federal agencies. Members frequently travel for week long, overnight projects across the state.

No prior experience is necessary, and all experience is welcome. Through the program, Members receive training and certifications in a variety of skill sets including chainsawing, wildland firefighting, and emergency incident management.  Additional opportunities to develop leadership experience through the Assistant Team Lead program are available later in the service term. These experiences and certifications leave Members well qualified in related career fields after their service.  

ACSTL provides a challenging and fun opportunity to explore the conservation, fire, and disaster fields; serve the environment and local/state/national community; meet people from different backgrounds; enjoy an outdoor office; earn money for education; and be a part of a supportive, welcoming community.

Commitment to a Welcoming Environment

AmeriCorps St. Louis is committed to building a welcoming organization and fostering an environment of respect, with equal access to programs, facilities, and employment amongst all individuals. It is our policy to maintain an environment free of harassment and discrimination against any person based on age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, military service, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, genetic information, political ideology, or legal source of income. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the achievement of our mission, and will not be tolerated. 

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. National, or Lawful Permanent Resident.
• At least 18 years old by the program start date.
• Possess a high school diploma or GED.
• Must pass National Service criminal history checks, at no cost to the applicant.
• Demonstrate the ability to effectively serve on a teams or with a variety of populations.
• Exhibit flexibility, adaptability, and capacity to serve in a fluid, changing service environment.
• Able to communicate effectively with teammates, partners, and staff.
• Prioritizes serving effectively with teammates and partners, and influencing positive results of oneself and others.
• Value the community and welcoming environment of the Corps.

Physical Health Information: Members must maintain a high level of physical fitness during their 11-month term of service in order to safely carry out the duties required for a manual labor position. A position with ERT requires extensive walking, bending, kneeling, lifting, pushing, stooping, standing, carrying loads of up to 50 lbs, handling hand and power tools, and other physical labor for extended periods of time. Members will serve primarily outdoors, in all kinds of weather (heat, cold, rain, snow, etc). Should accommodations be needed, you will be asked to submit a letter showing you are medically cleared to serve safely with ACSTL. This letter should state recommended accommodations.

Preferred Qualifications

Open to Learning: Applicants do not need any prior experience. Successful ERT Members are willing to learn new skills and have the ability to function as supportive and dependable teammates, even in times of extreme stress and adversity.

Flexible: Members should be flexible, open-minded, and prepared for a variety of unexpected experiences throughout their term of service. An interest in the outdoors, traveling and adventure is desired as Members spend most of their time out of town, living communally in rustic conditions. We are technically always on call for a disaster, and Members must be ready to change plans at the very last minute in order to respond. You will spend much of your service term with plans changing from week to week or even day to day.

Committed: It is important to note the commitment that is required to be a Member here and the importance of being able to commit for the full 11-month term. We invest heavily in the development and training of our Members and aim to foster a mutual respect with the program, encouraging Members to help us improve as an organization and to consider serving for more than one term.

The Perks

• $1,800 (pretax) monthly living stipend
• $7,395 Education Award after the completion of the program (please see www.americorps.gov for more information)
• Loan deferment and interest forbearance on qualified student loans during term of service
• Health insurance reimbursement, if applicable
• Free mental health support options
• 2-week winter break and 6 national holidays
• Paid Personal Vacation Days and Sick/Mental Health Days
• Discounts for outdoor gear, YMCA Memberships, cell phone plans, public transportation, tax filing, and car insurance available
• Networking and professional development
• U.S. Forest Service Preferential Hiring eligibility through the Public Lands Corps

Training and Certifications: All Members receive extensive training and certifications throughout their term in the areas of environmental stewardship, wildland firefighting, and disaster response. Some of these trainings include team building and leadership skills, chainsaw and other power equipment operations, wildfire and prescribed burn operations, hand tool use and maintenance, risk management approaches, introduction to disaster services, Incident Command System, emergency communications, Psychological First Aid, and basic First Aid/CPR.

Partner availability permitting, Members will have the opportunity to attend chainsaw and wildland fire training with the U.S. Forest Service. Members are generally afforded the opportunity to test for their S-212 Wildland Fire Chainsaw certification as a FAL3 (Basic Faller), as a Type II Wildland Firefighter (FFT2), and will receive their Incident Qualification Card (Red Card) through the U.S. Forest Service. The baseline level of fitness required for a Red Card includes being able to pass the wildland firefighter Pack Test: a 3-mile walk carrying a 45-lbs pack completed in under 45 minutes. 

As the term progresses, there will be further opportunities for development. One of these avenues is the chance to learn how to lead teams through the Assistant Team Lead program: dedicated weeks of shadowing, coaching, and mentorship with Team Leads at your own pace to give you support and get you comfortable with leading a team of your peers. It is a collaborative experience with Team Leads to support the background, scheduling, communicating, management, and facilitation of success for all things project related.

The Essentials

Housing: All ERT Members must find their own permanent housing in St. Louis. There are multi-bedroom apartments and houses that current Members share, and those rooms usually become available once their term of service ends. Members have the opportunity to connect with each other virtually after they are hired and before they arrive in St. Louis to coordinate roommates and living situations. ACSTL is happy to help facilitate the housing search, but it is ultimately each Member’s responsibility to find a permanent situation for at least 12 months (September to August). The cost of living in St. Louis is still very affordable, especially if Members live together and split rent and utility costs. On average, AmeriCorps Members spend $350/month on rent.

Housing is provided while Members are in service on conservation projects outside of St. Louis or on disaster deployment. Housing ranges from camping to garage shops to seasonal housing to AirBnBs, depending on availability, weather, funding, etc. Most housing is on the rustic side. We are not able to currently offer financial relocation assistance to Members moving to St. Louis.

Equipment/Uniforms: ACSTL provides most of the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to serve safely, including a duffel bag, work pack, helmet, fire protective clothing (Nomex), and AmeriCorps uniforms. If needed, we also have tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, hiking backpacks, etc., which you may borrow for your term of service but then return in good condition at the end. The only major expense we ask of Members to cover is part of the cost of new fire boots (payment plans are available). You will need to provide your own work pants and hiking boots. We recommend waiting to buy anything until after arriving in St. Louis since we have extra equipment and clothing at our headquarters that are donated.

Food: ACSTL provides a food budget for Members while they are serving. Teams buy groceries as a team and cook group meals. Members should only need to use their own money to buy extra personal snacks or specific foods if they have a dietary restriction. Depending on your overall personal financial situation, you may qualify for SNAP benefits during your term of service.

Personal Vehicle: A personal vehicle is not required for the program. ACSTL owns a fleet of work trucks that teams travel in to and from projects and deployments. Usually about half the Corps have personal vehicles. It makes it easier for errands and personal travel if you have a car, but it’s very much a personal choice. Many housing options are located within walking or biking distance to our headquarters.

Position Details

Environmental Stewardship: The normal day-to-day side of our program is the environmental stewardship focus area. There will always be Members serving on environmental stewardship projects, even if other Members are deployed on disasters. These projects consist of a wide variety of activities and may include invasive species removal (including herbicide application), glade and habitat restoration, hazard tree removal, trail maintenance and building, and fireline construction for future prescribed burns. We partner mainly with the Missouri Departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service, and Missouri conservation organizations and nonprofits, including the Ozark Trail Association, Great Rivers Greenway, and Forest Park Forever. 

Wildland Fire: A year with ACSTL affords Members a unique glimpse into potential career paths along both federal and non-federal fire careers through the training opportunities provided both internally and by our partner organizations, scheduled field projects, and networking opportunities with our partners and our vast alumni network.

Many of our partner agencies engage in prescribed burning operations when weather allows; most prescribed fire activity occurs between February and April in Missouri and Illinois, but prescribed fire windows can occur anywhere between October and May. ACSTL teams are generally engaged in both preparation activities (fireline construction & maintenance, timber stand improvement, glade restoration) and actual firing operations. The U.S. Forest Service (Mark Twain National Forest and Shawnee National Forest) utilizes ACSTL teams as a qualified Type 2 Initial Attack (IA) resource for both prescribed burn operations as well as wildfire standby and response between February and April. There are also opportunities to gain non-federal fire experience with state partners as well as other non-government organizations, such as the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Fire experience is not guaranteed for all Members, but most people do get some experience and everyone gets fire training. We do our best to place Members who want experience on projects where the likelihood of burning is higher.

Disaster Response: As an Emergency Response Team, we are able to respond to disasters across the country and locally. However, we only respond to disaster incidents when our assistance is officially requested by the local emergency management entity. This means that even if there is a very large disaster somewhere in the country during the service term, our program does not respond without being requested. Like with fire, we cannot guarantee disaster response experience as every year varies due to weather, timing, and other factors. Therefore, you could potentially spend your entire service year on conservation projects without deploying to a disaster. 

When deployed, there are different types of services you could assist with. Over the past three decades, ERT Members have been involved in every part of a response effort, including volunteer and donations management, warehousing, database management, call centers, as well as on the more direct service side with debris cleanup, sandbagging, muck n gutting, and hazard tree removal. Due to the training they receive and our experience as a program, our Members often find themselves serving behind-the-scenes in an office environment helping to organize and manage the response effort using the Incident Command System (ICS). Our teams can serve in a coordinated effort with other AmeriCorps Disaster Response programs, or just as one small team assisting other voluntary agencies. During a deployment, you could be serving long hours with limited time off. It is important to note that since we may deploy anywhere in the country, you could be away from St. Louis for a long period of time.