Crete Emergency Management Agency doesn’t adequately describe what that organization does. When it was founded in 1988, it was called the Emergency Services Disaster Agency, which is closer to the truth: Its volunteers do a lot more than most people realize.
According to Ryan Allison, director of the agency for almost a year, Crete EMA is responsible for coordinating and managing responses to many types of emergencies and disasters.
“We play a crucial role in ensuring public safety, minimizing damage, coordinating with other departments, agencies, organizations, and the whole community, plus facilitating recovery efforts in times of crisis,” he said.
“Some of our primary responsibilities are weather spotting, traffic management/control, search and rescue, maintaining the village’s emergency operations center and specialized equipment and vehicles.
“These services and equipment are available to the village’s departments, as well as communities across Will and Southern Cook Counties, in times of need, through mutual aid agreements.
“Along with our core responsibilities, members can specialize in certain teams or topics, like search and rescue team, communications specialist, lighting specialist, severe weather support, and incident management support.
“Another one of EMA’s roles is ensuring all village departments meet National Incident Management System standards, so we all ‘speak the same language’ and serve as a clearinghouse for resource requests during incidents, striving to handle locally but being able to expand up to county, state, or federal, as needed.”
Allison happily shared that information and more, during an open house recently hosted by EMA.
Kaison, age five, had some fun at the Crete EMA open house by sizing up the EMA gear. It’ll be a few years before he can wear it, though. –Photo by Karen Haave.
Tucked away in an unassuming 8,200-square-foot building on Exchange Street, the agency carries a heavy load of responsibility.
“Crete Emergency Management Agency (EMA) originally was founded as a Civil Defense Agency, later evolving into the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA),” Allison noted.
“Our team automatically is dispatched with the Crete Fire Department for accidents with injuries and structural fires, to help protect the police and fire while they work a scene.”
In addition to Allison and Deputy Director Paul VanDeraa, the roster includes Capt. Doug Blake, Sgt. Keith Miller Sr., and responders Butch Most, Mike Vannier, Stacey Skaggs, Dave Spillers, Jason Walters, Joseph Calkins, James Walters, Robert Muir, Katelyn Tieri, and Jack Gordon.
Responders are given “a small stipend” for answering calls but are largely considered volunteers, Allison said.
“Most of our team averages eight-to-15 hours per month, some are more active than others and consistently serve 150-plus hours every year. We average 20 ‘runs’ a month, including our weekly meeting/drill/training nights, special details, equipment and facility maintenance, plus emergency and weather callouts. We typically respond to five-to-10 emergency callouts a month.”
A volunteer himself in the beginning of his career, Allison remembers the hardest part of the work being the late-night callouts. “But knowing we were being called to help our public safety team, our neighboring EMAs, or helping a resident in their time of need made it so fulfilling,” he said. “Ensuring you can overall give the time commitment also can be a weight to bear.”
He admits being in charge of it all compounds both the responsibility and concern.
“As director the most frequent worry I have is ensuring we will have the availability to respond to callouts and requests, but I have strived to build a team-oriented and collaborative environment, not only within EMA but also with our other village departments and surrounding EMAs, plus also ensuring we have the proper equipment and resources available to respond to the ever-evolving emergencies and incidents we face.
“I really enjoy the variety EMA provides,” he continued. “No day or even hour can be the same, and every single incident, training, or even meetings are different. You never know what’s going to be around the corner, and being able to quickly and effectively plan and troubleshoot is always interesting.”
Allison pointed out the village provides better-than-adequate equipment to get the job done.
“We have several specialty apparatuses, such as a scene- lighting light truck and light towers, snowmobiles, an ATV, an incident command trailer – essentially a mobile office with incident paperwork, computers, radios and security cameras, and a rehab unit, one of a few in the state that allows a heated or cooled space, with coffee and water for longer term incidents, where responders can recover for a few moments before returning to the incident.”
Asked how he got involved with emergency services, Allison said, “I started my adventure with Crete in January 2013, as a volunteer responder with EMA, quickly joining the search and rescue team on the management team.
“A little over a year after joining EMA as a volunteer, a code enforcement and animal control position became available. I applied and was eventually hired. For EMA, I was promoted through to the ranks of responder to sergeant, to lieutenant, and then in May of 2024 was appointed as EMA Director.”
Looking ahead, he said, “We plan on focusing on building volunteer responder morale, retention, and recognition. Also, we plan on seeking additional methods for member recruitment, which will allow us to better enhance our public education programs and participation in community events. The development of our team into ‘professional volunteers’ is our main goal, and we plan to accomplish this by emphasizing individual strengths, core response capabilities, and maintaining high expectations for all members alongside additional apparatus specializations.”
Allison said his volunteers all feel good about being part of EMA. One of them told him, “Being a source of reassurance and support in times of uncertainty truly makes a difference. Knowing people can count on you for safety and peace of mind, especially when the situation is tense or chaotic, is incredibly fulfilling. It’s not just about the immediate help you’re providing but also the lasting trust you’re building within the community.”
Another volunteer said, “I work with EMA not only because it is such a passionate, devoted group of people, but also to help out and be a part of the community we all love so much.
“I truly wanted to be there when people needed us most. Not on the good days, but on their bad days, to be a comforting face in crummy situations – also, to keep the police and fire departments safe while they did their jobs. They always show up when we need them; they need someone to return the favor.”
Anyone interested in joining Crete EMA is asked to stop in at village hall and complete an application that will be submitted to the membership committee for review.
“Anyone applying must be at least 18 years of age,” Allison added, “be a resident of the Village of Crete or Crete Township, have a valid driver’s license, pass a physical examination, undergo a background check, and not be a member of any other surrounding EMA/ESDA or fire department.”