SIERRA VISTA — In case of emergency, disaster or an epidemic, local emergency workers won’t be the only ones prepared to help.

About 20 local volunteers learned how to turn 700 pounds of canvas, metal and plastic into an emergency shelter Saturday.

The Base-X shelter structure, a new $28,000 county purchase with funds from the Centers for Disease Control, is a large tent that could be used for sleeping, surgery and many other emergency needs, said Maureen Kappler, spokeswoman for the drill and public health nurse for Cochise County.

The tent’s durability and its ease of setup make it useful in an emergency. Similar tents have withstood several years of use in harsh conditions in Iraqi deserts, Kappler said.

County workers also practiced using new radio and other communications equipment while volunteers learned how to set up and take down the Base-X tent at the Fry Fire District on Saturday. The drill allowed workers to practicing commands and scene control, said Elizabeth Lueck, the county’s bioterrorism preparedness coordinator.

Staff from the county Bioterrorism Preparedness Program and Emergency Services worked together for the training event, said Mike Evans, the county’s emergency services coordinator.

While the new equipment can be assets during an emergency, one of the most important resources are local volunteers, Evans said. The Red Cross, Salvation Army, Citizens Emergency Response Team, Medical Reserve Corps and volunteers from other groups can be quickly utilized in an emergency depending on their training.

“We can’t do this ourselves. We need the volunteers,” he said.

Kappler said medical and communications volunteers are especially needed.

“They’re vital,” she said. “We don’t have enough.”

Juanita Portz, a member of the Citizens Emergency Response Team, has been a volunteer since 2004. She decided to volunteer because she feels fortunate she can.

“I hope one day if I need it, someone would help me,” she said.

Daniel Myers, a Donovan Dodge employee, was recruited to volunteer while he was at work this week. He had set up similar tents before when he was in the military, and he was impressed with the new design and other improvements.

A group of six volunteers, along with two Base-X trainers from Tucson, completed the full tent setup and breakdown in about one and a half hours.

With enough practice, a well coordinated group could set it up in about 6 minutes, Myers said.

Shelley Eversole, a CPA based in Sierra Vista, said she wanted to help because county workers can’t do it all, she said, especially when there’s 700 pounds of tent to be dealt with.

She and Portz said the tent was a good resource for the community.

“The capabilities of that tent are amazing,” Portz said.

She expected it to be more difficult but with some strength and coordination, four men and four women, including herself, were able to lift and move the tent a few feet.

“When you work as a group, it’s easy,” she said.

Lueck said next year they hope to plan a scenario exercise involving a chemical leak or another kind of situation.