Lt. Parker offers service to Israel Emergency Volunteer Project

Longboat Key Fire Rescue Lt. Rocky Parker was surfing the Internet one day last year when he came across a YouTube video about the Firefighters for Israel Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP). But amid the images of exploding missiles and sounds of emergency vehicles that provide a glimpse into a country at war, what got Parker’s attention was this:

“Firefighting is not about politics,” a volunteer said on the video. “It is not about religion. It’s about saving lives.”

“It’s a brotherhood that goes beyond borders,” Parker said.

Israelis are required to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF); most firefighters and other emergency personnel would be called to service in a time of war. So, the EVP, a group funded entirely by donations, trains volunteer teams of firefighters and other professionals, such as those in the medical field, social workers, psychologists, municipal maintenance professionals and other types of community volunteers, who, in an emergency, can deploy to Israel to provide vital services.

Parker contacted the organization through its website, evp.org.il and trained in New York City for a week. At the end of September, he traveled for a week-and-a-half to Israel, where he trained alongside Israeli firefighters to learn how he could help in a time of crisis.

“Because I’m a firefighter and I can use my skills, I thought it was a thrilling thing to do,” Parker said.

He found that departments in Israel run differently than those in the United States. The department Parker spent most of his time with consisted of nine firefighters serving a population of 150,000. Israeli departments don’t offer medical services and have the sole responsibility of responding to fires and road hazards. They also don’t operate by the stringent safety regulations the United States has in place, making the job much more dangerous.

Parker, a 27-year firefighter who has spent the last 12 years with the Longboat Key department, is the first EVP firefighter volunteer from Florida; most, thus far, have come from Texas and New York. Parker hopes to encourage more Florida firefighters to participate in the future.

Parker said that he was surprised at what he saw in Israel. Most of the country was safer and more Americanized than he expected. And the people were grateful — even surprised — that the team was there.

“People go to Israel as tourists or they go to Israel for the religious sites,” he said. “Not too many go for the people.”

Mission matters
According to the Emergency Volunteer Project’s website, evp.org.il, after the Second Lebanon War, emergency services and local municipalities were severely short staffed. EVP, which is funded solely by donations was formed in collaboration with emergency services and local municipalities to locate and recruit volunteers who can be deployed at short notice to provide emergency services as needed in Israel.