Day In the Life Of a DAT Responder

American Red Cross Volunteer Brian Deloche offers his perspective as a DAT responder – otherwise known as a Disaster Assistance Team.

Brian shares a pensive moment about his volunteering which has spanned years and includes several vantage points – from being first on the scene to help families with money and supplies to standing back and observing as he writes about his experiences in our effort to share on-going stories for American Red Cross efforts throughout the region.

Today, Brian shares a slice of his own story – his view of his own work from his personal vantage point… 

Home fires are difficult regardless of the time of year they occur.  But those that happen before or after Christmas always seem to be among the worst.  Those that occur before the holiday often destroy dreams of Christmas wishes to come.  Those that happen after the holiday often destroy Christmas wishes fulfilled.

Yesterday, for me, was a case of the latter.  I was dispatched to assist clients who were put out of their home after an early morning fire.  Many of the gifts exchanged at Christmas were lost along with other family treasures.

As is almost always the case, the family was unexpectedly put under a great deal of stress having lost furniture, clothes and gifts.  Those stresses are amplified by the financial pressures that come from trying to figure out how to pay for those items essential to their recovery.

As we worked to complete the client intake information, the stresses were evident on the faces of the husband and wife sitting across from me. Their sense of loss was palpable, if not contagious.

It is always a great honor for me to watch tears of distress give way to tears of joy each time I’m able to hand over a client assistance card pre-loaded with cash as I tell the clients “this money was given to the American Red Cross by the American people, and it’s now my privilege to give it to you.”

And while I’m most content to wait for long periods between fire responses, the opportunity to witness that change from stress to relief doesn’t seem to happen enough. There comes great satisfaction in knowing that on this day, something I did mattered in a very positive way for me and the client.

The firm handshake, the tearful thank you and the warm hug that often come when I hand over the card make it all worthwhile.

More importantly, I leave each response knowing one thing. For whatever reason, through Divine grace, my life has been and is blessed. And for that I am grateful.

Why Bother Using Safe and Well?

In disaster situations when people are unable to reach loved ones to either find out if they’re ok or to let them know they are safe, the American Red Cross encourages use of Safe and Well as a means to make connections.

Safe and Well is a website with the sole purpose of helping reunite loved ones in times of disaster. It’s available 24-7, 365 days a year.

We encourage this avenue, in part, because it keeps phone lines open for those seeking direct assistance from first responders. Resources can rapidly become stretched during disasters when confusion and chaos are high. Keeping phone lines clear allows those in dire need to reach help they require faster giving them the best chance possible to be safe in their individual predicaments.

When registering at the link above, choose the ‘Other’ selection for the Disaster Event.

You’ll also want to have your phone number and address ready when signing up. If looking for someone, you’ll provide either their phone number or address. This acts as a type of screening process to help all involved stay safe and well.

Sound the Alarm Success Story

Valcun Carmel and his grandson of Springfield fell asleep in the living room watching a movie together a few days before Halloween this year. They were jarred awake by a smoke alarm in the early morning hours of October 29th, 2018. Within seconds, a large mirror near them shattered as they hurried to get out of the house. Everyone escaped safely as Springfield Fire crews arrived to put out the blaze.

Valcun is thoughtful as he looks at his former home at 733 North 4th Street across from the Springfield Art Association. He says he misses it and all he lost inside – his home for 17 years.

“Take care of your home, get alarms, and keep everything safe,” is advice Valcun offers others looking for his insight having survived what he called a ‘crazy’ experience for him and the four-year-old in his care.

Valcun credits the alarms with saving his life and so do area leaders including American Red Cross National Headquarters calling it a result of the successful Sound the Alarm campaign made possible by at least 100 volunteers who canvassed neighborhoods to install free smoke alarms – a program going on for more than three years.

American Red Cross Community Partners in this effort: Springfield Fire Department, Americorps, SIU School of Medicine, University of Illinois Springfield, and Enos Park Neighborhood Association.

The home is behind Valcun and our Red Cross staff – easily identifiable with plywood covering the windows. Left to Right in the photo: Katelyn Trunnell- Individual & Community Preparedness Manager, Alyssa Pollock- Regional Disaster Officer, Valcun Carmel- Resident, Lyn Hruska- Regional Chief Executive Officer.

 

Inside Red Cross Shelter Planning

As storms swept through Illinois, Saturday, December 1, 2018, American Red Cross Central and Southern Illinois Region leadership and volunteers strategized how to best help those affected and yet to be impacted by what turned into more than two dozen tornadoes.

The decision to open a shelter starts long before it’s needed. One obvious decision making factor is need. Are there a significant number of people who need a safe place to stay? That number varies depending on family size, for instance.

The Red Cross has more than 2000 pre-identified shelters in Illinois. But, how do we choose the appropriate location during a disaster?

Let’s say there are five pre-identified potential shelters in a county disaster area. The number of people who need a safe place to stay is definitely a primary consideration.

Beyond that, criteria includes choosing a facility that’s ADA-accessible so it is friendly to all.

Another factor in our decision is where is the facility? We look for place that are close to the disaster yet outside of the perimeter of the disaster area, at the same time. It’s a thoughtful decision-making process to make sure we are helping people in a given area in the best way we can help them at a time they need care and consideration for their basic needs.

A nurse is present or on-call for our shelters 24 hours a day to monitor health needs of clients and staff.

In the case of the December 2018 severe storms in Taylorville, Illinois, this safe center pictured above is in the hardest hit community that sustained most significant damage.

If possible, we ask shelter residents to bring any medications and medical equipment needed by any family members for their overnight stays.

One noteworthy final fact: public schools, community colleges, public universities and civic centers are required by law to work with the Red Cross in providing shelter should the need present itself. Our pre-identified sheltering agreements include those types of facilities, as well as places of worship such as hundreds of churches and temples.

Shelter location in photo: Crossroads Apostolic Christian Church, 212 Jaycee Drive, Taylorville, IL

In Memory of Christian

Joy Sheehan (center) reacts with surprise after learning more than 200 smoke alarms had been installed in 53 homes during the smoke alarm campaign conducted in her son, Christian Sheehan’s memory. Also pictured are Joy’s husband Robert and their daughter Cidnee.

More than 100 volunteers pushing bright orange shopping carts equipped with ladders, tools and smoke alarms paraded away from the Mattis Avenue Free Methodist Church March 25 intent on honoring the memory of one young man who died because his home lacked working smoke alarms.

The Champaign Fire Department, partnering with the American Red Cross, sponsored a home smoke alarm installation event to mark the first anniversary of the fire that claimed the life of Christian Sheehan, 23, March 26, 2016.

Clad in white T-shirts that bore a modified but familiar looking super hero logo that stood for “Sheehan Strong on the front, with the hashtag “#Christian Strong” on the back, the volunteers went door-to-door intent on installing smoke alarms and raising home fire safety awareness. Ironically enough, the route from the church to the neighborhood being canvassed led volunteers past the charred foundation, all that remains of the home Sheehan shared with a friend. Julie Shuler, 26, who was visiting Sheehan’s roommate, also died in the fire.

For the Sheehan family, the Home Fire Campaign marked the culmination of an emotional week that saw not only the anniversary of the fire, but the day that would have been their late son’s 24th birthday.

There were tears at the start of the day as friends and family remembered Christian. There were tears of joy and laughter as they shared remembrances of a young man his parents gleefully admitted “was no saint.” More importantly, there were tears of celebration at the end of the day when the announcement came that more than 200 smoke alarms had been installed in 53 homes in just 3 hours’ time. “This is so amazing,” Joy said. “I was hoping we would get 100. I never dreamed we’d get this many (installed).

“What we did today — what you did today — made a difference,” Champaign Fire Chief Gary Ludwig told the volunteers. “You made a difference because the probability is in the next 10 years, one of the homes that received smoke alarms today will have a fire, and the probability is what you did today may have saved lives. In the past year, we have lost four lives in home fires. I don’t want to see us lose any more.”

The day was also significant for Champaign Firefighter Ralph Russell. Mr. Russell was on duty June 21, 2007 when his engine was dispatched to a familiar sounding address.

“When we pulled up on scene, I told my lieutenant, ‘I have family that lives in this house. What am I supposed to do?” The lieutenant, Mr. Russell said, had never been in that situation before. He said, “I guess we have to go do our jobs.” Mr. Russell’s sister-in-law lost her husband and a child in that fire. “There were two smoke alarms in the house,” he said. “One didn’t have a battery in it, and the one had a battery in it but it was disconnected.”

Mr. Russell summed up the importance of the day’s smoke alarm installation campaign in just one sentence. “It’s such a minor thing that can result in a major loss if it’s not used.”

For Rob and Joy Sheehan, being part of the Home Fire Campaign was something they felt compelled to do. “It feels good being able to bring something so good out of something that was so devastating,” Joy said.

“You can be bitter, or you can be joyful,” Joy continued. “It’s what Christian would want us to do,” Rob added.

The Sheehans had great praise for the fire department’s effort to get the word out and get some alarms into peoples’ homes. “The fire department is like family to us now,” Rob added. “These guys are my brothers now.” The Sheehans also praised Deb Goettig, the American Red Cross Disaster Program Specialist for the Champaign area. “We couldn’t have done this without her help.”

“This was absolutely an unqualified success,” Fire Chief Ludwig added. It’s amazing to see so many people turn out not because they had to be here, but because they wanted to be here.”

The Sheehans now hope to make this an annual event to keep their son’s memory alive and to help prevent any more fire deaths in Champaign.

 

 

 

 

Saving the world one smoke detector at a time

We take life saving very seriously at the Red Cross.  Whether it is CPR training or teaching a child how to respond in a tornado, we do it all… And this month, we took our life saving efforts one step further.

The American Red Cross recently announced a new national campaign to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires by as much as 25 percent over the next five years. The campaign seeks to increase the use of smoke alarms in neighborhoods with higher numbers of home fires and to encourage all Americans to practice their fire escape plans.

The Red Cross in central Illinois has a series of smoke detector events planned, and we kicked off our fire prevention efforts last Saturday. We partnered with the Peoria fire department and the West Peoria neighborhood association to check and install smoke detectors in neighborhoods that have historically had a high risk for home fires.

Getting ready to head out

Channel your inner space heater safety dictator

Not going to lie, I have been looking forward to this weather. I love summer and wearing flip flops, but I got these recently…

I know!  Adorable, right? I couldn’t wait until we had highs in the 50’s so I could wear them along with my boot socks.  But with the boot weather also comes lows in the 40’s and 30’s, and I am not ready to turn on the heat yet. So, I plan to use one of these babies this weekend so we don’t freeze.  

Top 10 Songs You Need in Your Life During Fire Safety Month

October! Its a month of spooky stuff, football games and, because it is National Fire Safety Month, fire prevention.  I took a very unofficial Red Cross poll of staff and volunteers across the Midwest, and they ranked the following songs as the best fire songs of all time.

10. Rooms on Fire by Stevie Nicks – “Every time that you walk in a room” in your home remember the two ways to escape in case of a fire. Everyone in the family should know this for every room in your home.

 

9. Fire by the Pointer Sisters – Fire can “have a hold on you right from the start”, so in case of a fire… Get out, stay out and call 9-1-1.

 

What does the Red Cross actually do in a disaster?

This timeline from a very talented volunteer shows the Red Cross disaster timeline perfectly.  His subject matter? The November 17th tornadoes that devastated parts of Illinois.

Pinning is winning, are you prepping on Pinterest?

All September, the Red Cross talks about preparedness.  We tweet it, we preach it, and, yes, sometimes we even pin it. Whatever it takes, we want you to be prepared for anything that comes your way.

Now, you may be thinking, “I only pin recipes, fashion options and craft ideas I will never actually do.  Is there even preparedness stuff on there?” And to that question we say, “Why yes there is!”

Zombie apocalypse? Got it covered!