When an emergency happens, every minute matters.

Emergency services will always prioritise the most urgent calls and may not be able to reach everyone straight away.

A Community Emergency Hub is a safe, local place where people can come together during an emergency. It allows communities to share information, support one another, and take safe, practical action until emergency services arrive.

What is a Community Emergency Hub?

A Community Emergency Hub is run by the community, for the community.

To support local areas, the Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum (LRF) has created a simple, practical guide to help communities set up and run a Hub.

Hubs can be established in many types of community spaces, and you do not need to pre‑select volunteers. The guide includes easy‑to‑use role cards that explain each task clearly. This means you can open a Hub quickly, assign roles to those who are present, and begin supporting your community straight away.

Suggested roles can be adapted to suit the people available and the situation you are facing.

Why your community needs a Hub

A Community Emergency Hub helps your community to:

• Act quickly when something unexpected happens
• Support neighbours and look out for one another
• Strengthen existing emergency plans
• Build confidence and resilience before, during, and after an emergency

Community Emergency Hubs are simple, flexible, and suitable for many different types of emergencies. They can make a real difference in the critical early moments.

Want to learn more?

You can read the Community Emergency Hub Guide and view the role cards below.

• Community Emergency Hub Guide
• Welfare Officer card
• Facilities Manager card
• Supervisor Role card
• Receptionist card
• Public Information Officer card
• Information Officer card
• Needs and Offers Officer card

Setting up your own Community Emergency Hub

1. As a community group, agree that you would like to establish a Community Emergency Hub.
2. Understand the key principles:
   1. The Hub is open to the whole community during an emergency.
   2. It is a community asset, managed by the community for the community.
3. Identify a suitable building to use as a Community Emergency Hub.
4. Depending on your county, contact Volunteer Cornwall or Devon Communities Together (details below) to access support and to receive a Community Emergency Hub Box.
5. Ensure you have registered your Community Emergency Hub with Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum

Volunteer Cornwall and Devon Communities Together contact details

Volunteer Cornwall is working with the Local Resilience Forum to provide support and equipment through the existing Community Hub Network.
If you are not already in contact, email Volunteer Cornwall.

Devon Communities Together supports communities across Devon to establish Community Emergency Hubs.
To access this support email Devon Communities Together

By getting in touch, your community could receive:

• A fully stocked Community Emergency Hub Box with practical tools to help you get started immediately.
• A hard copy of the Community Emergency Hub guide and role cards.
• Lanyards and role identifiers to support clear and quick identification during an emergency response.

Community Emergency Hubs are flexible, friendly, and designed to fit your community’s needs. Whether you are just beginning to think about emergency response or strengthening an existing plan, a Community Emergency Hub provides a strong foundation.

A limited number of resource boxes are available, so don’t miss the opportunity to secure one for your community.