In 1991, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the leadership of engineering and architectural professional societies began to develop a program for post-earthquake volunteer inspectors. A coalition, called SAVE was formed to handle this task by the the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE), the Missouri Chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and American Institute of Architects (MO/AIA), and the Consulting Engineers of Missouri (CECMo) . The SAVE Coalition was organized to train and mobilize volunteer inspectors in the event of an earthquake or other disaster, if necessary.
If a disaster requiring SAVE volunteers occurs, local authorities will contact SEMA and request support. An estimate is made of the number of required volunteers and SEMA contacts the SAVE Coalition State and Regional Coordinators. In the event of a large disaster, it is anticipated that volunteers will be mobilized from outside the affected area because the local volunteers may be required to care for their families or their own structures or businesses.
The ability of the Coalition to assist local building inspectors in evaluating structures is directly related to the availability of qualified, trained volunteers. Continued, and increased, funding is needed to promote the program and train volunteers, including refresher courses.
Volunteers from outside the areas of greatest potential damage are especially important, since individuals within these areas may have other immediate personal concerns. Continued planning is also needed for mobilizing and housing volunteers from outside the affected area.