A WEEK TO REMEMBER IN CALEDONIA COUNTY
What starts wtih a drill turns quickly to reality
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE … (Caledonia County, VT – April 27, 2013) Just a week ago, the Disaster Action Team in Caledonia County conducted a drill. Such an exercise helps to build skills and allows the team to maintain a degree of readiness. As they concluded the drill, it would have been hard for them to imagine all that they would be called upon to accomplish in the week ahead.
Mirroring the real-life experience of an American Red Cross volunteer,
the drill was not held at a convenient time.
In fact, last Saturday night’s drill started
at 11pm. Team members assembled and
with the help of others, they practiced how they would respond to a house fire
in Danville. The volunteers provided
assistance to their imagined fire victims and organized support for the
non-existent first responders on scene at the mock fire. With a few unexpected twists thrown in by the
drill organizers to keep them on their toes, the team performed exceedingly
well.
What followed this week put their skills to the test in some very real
world situations. On Monday, the first
of several calls came in for assistance.
A Concord family of five was displaced from their home by fire. Volunteers
trained in client casework met with the affected family to help assess their
emergency needs. Support was provided to
replace food and clothing lost in the fire.
On Wednesday, the pace really picked up.
A tragic boating accident on the Passumpsic River in Barnet left a
canoeist missing. The Red Cross was
asked to provide support at the scene.
Food and beverages were the direct assistance delivered to first
responders and family, but it was the warmth and compassion of the volunteers
that was probably the most important element of their work. Over the course of two and a half days, the
corps of Red Cross volunteers remained on scene to lend support.
Wednesday also brought another fire to the region, this time striking two
homes in Lyndonville. Again, volunteers
met with the displaced and provided financial support to replace lost food and
clothing. This response took place while
other team members remained on scene at the search and rescue.
A bright spot for the tired team came on Thursday as they spent the day with
the K-12 students of Concord talking about preparedness and displaying several
of the Red Cross tools used in disaster response. This included an Emergency Response Vehicle from
which food and supplies can be delivered across our region during times of
disaster. That same vehicle only
recently returned from a long stint in New York in the wake of Hurricane
Sandy. In addition, the team set up an
all-in-one trailer and tent Emergency Response System (ERS) built by MMIC, a
Caledonia County business that has loaned the ERS to the Red Cross.
Today, team members are back at it with another fire response. Last night, the home of another Concord
family was struck by fire. While it
appears they have made arrangements for lodging, they will be provided support
for food and clothing.
In all, at least 11 Red Cross Disaster Action Team members from Caledonia
County engaged in this week’s activities.
Judy Kennedy and Barb Byrne, the Co-Coordinators for the Caledonia
County team have devoted considerable time in recent months to ensuring the
readiness of their team. This week, that
work paid off for the people of Caledonia County.
To support the work of Disaster
Action Teams like this one across our region, a donation can be made to support
American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your
gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional
support and other assistance in response to disasters. Visit www.redcross.org, call 802-660-9130, text
REDCROSS to 90999, ext. 111, or mail your contribution to American Red Cross,
29 Mansfield Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401.
