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.

5 Ways to Make September the Best Month Ever

September is kind of a blah month if you think about it.  The summer is unofficially over and no holidays September offers can compare to the ones ahead.  So in sympathy to this “meh” month, I have compiled a list to quite possibly make this the BEST. MONTH. EVER!

1. Lose the clutter. Summer is full of fun activities, so it is easy to let the stuff pile up.  Take a weekend to tidy up and get organized before school gets in full swing and the holidays arrive. Also, without all the access stuff, you will be able to find the perfect place to put this…

For a complete list of stuff, visit http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/get-kit.

The Evil Force is Upon Us

Webster’s Dictionary defines humidity as “an evil force that arrives in central Illinois each summer.  Causing countless women to wear hats or just simply give up on looking decent until fall”. Okay, so that’s a lie… It is my definition of the calamity that hits central Illinois every summer.  I know that when things in life are unavoidable, it is important to be prepared, and being the good Red Crosser that I am…

This isn’t supposed to happen to me…

Last night at 9:30pm, the house was quiet.  My son was exhausted and went to bed early, and my boyfriend fell asleep on the couch.   It had been a very long day for all of us, but unlike Sleeping Beauty 1 & 2,  I knew I would have a hard time falling asleep so I decided to pop a couple Tylenol PM.  I drifted off the sleep while reviewing all the things I would need to do in my ARC world today.  I ended up not sleeping as sound as I thought I would, but, as it turns out, that was a good thing.

Along about 11pm, I woke to the sound of voices yelling outside my house and thumping on the front door.  It took me a moment to realize I was awake, and then I ran to the window, tripping over the fan on my way.   When I looked out I saw the glow of flames and smelled the stench of melting siding.  The porch was on fire.  I tore out of my upstairs bedroom and beat on my son’s door to wake him up.  The smoke was just starting to roll in the open upstairs window, and it was difficult to breathe… yet I still barreled down the stairs and ripped open the front door.  Three men were beating on the door yelling, “Fire!”  I yelled at my boyfriend to wake up and then we all exited the house out the back door.  By then, the smoke had saturated the house which finally tripped our smoke detectors.

As I ran to the front of the house, I felt like I was in a dream.  Flames were leaping from the bushes and the porch, trying to climb up to the roof.  A stranger said to me, “Do you have a hose?” I mumbled… I couldn’t think.  My boyfriend responded, “Its around back”.  One of the men and my boyfriend ran to get the hose and began extinguishing the flames.  I stood silent, just in shock… This isnt supposed to happen to me.  Is this really happening?

The police and fire department soon followed and made sure that all the embers were out.  The firemen and police started asking me questions, and I honestly can’t remember what I said.  I started to feel so overwhelmed.  I wanted to just yell at them and say, “You are very nice, but I am freaking out right now! I am in my pajamas and I am cold and I took two Tylenol PM like an hour ago! Don’t expect me to be smart!”  But before I could open my mouth, I saw the three men. One donned a fedora, another rocked out piercings and a dew rag and the other just looked like a teddy bear.

These three were driving through central Illinois from Louisiana yesterday.  They stopped in Morton for gas, and as they headed back to the interstate, they saw my house and the flames on the porch.  So they turned around, scaled my 6 foot fence and started to beat on the door.  Those men were my angels, and they didn’t even know it.  I hugged them and teared up. I just couldn’t find the words to thank them enough.

The fireman then told me that if the fire had reached the old wood bead board ceiling of the porch that the entire house would have been engulfed. I stood there processing his words… I knew from the positioning of the porch on the house that my son and I wouldn’t have had time to make it downstairs.  I then turned to my angels from Louisiana who were starting to make their exit.  They all just smiled and waved from the vehicle.  The last thing they said to me was, “We are just a bunch of Cajuns that drove up from Louisiana to put out fires in the Midwest. Take Care!”  They chuckled as they drove off, and then I realized,  I didn’t even get their names.

Not long after, the fireman gave their unofficial report.  They thought someone driving by may have flicked a cigarette into the bushes which ultimately caused the porch to catch fire.  I am really lucky, and as I think you and I both know, this situation could have been way worse.

My lessons from this…

• Get one of those roll up ladder things to keep upstairs.  The what ifs in this situation kept me from sleeping last night, and this exhausted girl needs to sleep
• On the scene of a fire, don’t ask fire clients a million questions.  I think I have always been nice and careful, but this experience taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined about what goes through a client’s mind when they see their home on fire.
• Stuff like this CAN happen to me.  I can’t even believe I was so silly to think that phrase, but I did.  And be honest, you probably would too in that position.  We always think someone else will have a fire or experience a disaster, but the truth is that we never know what is coming down the road for us.

So as Preparedness Month comes to a close, make sure that you actually did something to prepare yourself and your family for a disaster, and know that the Red Cross doesn’t talk preparedness so that you can buy a kit from us or be just another community disaster education number on a spreadsheet.  We preach it because we know that the unthinkable can and will happen without warning to anyone, even a Red Crosser like me.

Bitter Sweet Summer

As summer is coming to an end, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what I have done both here at the Central Illinois Chapter-Red Cross and also outside of working.

From the moment I walked into the building here at the Red Cross, I was busy trying to do the best work I could. I knew I was going to be working on promoting the bike rodeo that is actually this upcoming Saturday, but had no idea what else I would be doing. I got thrown into the mix on the Golf Fore committee to plan for the golf outing at the end of July.

Working on the golf outing was a blast. I was in charge getting donations for the putting contest such as gift cards, certificates, any sort of items, etc. Any items I could get, I took them. I also was helping get sponsors and was able to land the largest sponsor ever for this event. I was very proud of myself! This will help the Red Cross continue its services & programs.

Erin even had me doing some things for other chapters. I put together a board of directors packet for Adams County and one day stapled all of those together. I also strengthened Erin’s media guide towards the end of the summer, as she is one heck of a busy woman around this office!

With all this, I was even able to sneak away for a week to Florida in June and a long weekend over the 4th of July to Texas. It was nice to have some time to spend with my family since I am home for the summer.

I truly have enjoyed my time here at the Red Cross. I have learned so much with Erin as my mentor and even learned stuff I had no idea of about the Red Cross. The friendships I have made here this summer will never be forgotten and I know I have a wonderful group of individuals that will support me in my future. This summer I truly believe has prepared me for the next step in my life.

What October means to me…

This is me with a couple of Red Cross “ghouls” from our Halloween party a couple of years ago. It is amazing what you can do with a creepy manikin from ebay! lol

When I hear October, I think of brisk air, falling leaves, fires and Halloween. The weather is great, and when I feel that cooler air, it means it’s boot season (and I have a lot of cute ones!) as well as gearing up for Fire Safety Month. In Red Cross world, fire safety month is a big deal. I schedule 50-75 classes for just that month alone, and I pair up with Ashley Bauer on the Fire Safety house. So my instructors and I are very busy!

I admit though, as many times as I have taught kids about being prepared, I don’t have a preparedness plan for myself. That is, until I was watching the show “The Walking Dead” and thinking to myself, “Wow, I’d be up a creek if I was in that show.” Why? Because I am not prepared. I don’t think zombies will be my problem, but if my house burnt to the ground, or there was some sort of fluke tornado that went through my town, I would be out of luck! So, I took it upon myself to get prepared. For more info on this, check out our tip library.

Now, speaking of zombies, a few preparedness tips for those who love to go to haunted house attractions for Halloween:

• Please don’t touch the Zombies and ghouls. They are not allowed to touch you, so please return the favor!
• Get there early so you don’t have to wait in line as long. (And buy tickets in advance if you can.)
• Stay with your group! Even if you want to run for the hills, you don’t want to get lost in the attraction!
• And please don’t shine cell phone lights or flashlights in the actors’ faces…it’s just bad form.

Take it from someone who has helped out at these attractions, as well as frequents them every year: being prepared and courteous is appreciated! Love October and be prepared, whether it’s for fire safety or haunted houses!