“This doesn’t happen here.”

“This doesn’t happen here”, is a phrase I found myself saying all the time during the latter part of November 2013.  Full disclosure – Before that time, whenever I would hear someone say that on TV, I fought the urge to roll my eyes.  I mean, come on… clearly, “things like that” do happen in your area because it did! But after November 17, 2013, I understood where that phrase came from.  Sometimes when we think we are safe and know what to expect at a certain time of year, Mother Nature can put a damper on your fantasy — and it just puts you in a temporary state of shock.  As a lifelong Central Illinois girl, an EF-4 tornado tearing through here in November definitely did that to me.

I think back on that Sunday, and I have to chuckle at what my concerns were that morning.  My biggest worry was getting to the grocery store and back before it rained.  Silly, right? For the record, I made it, but as I was putting away groceries, my Red Cross tornado app went off.  I looked out the windows of my kitchen in Morton and the sky looked terrible.  A mix of black and green, and the air seemed so thick and still.  My son, boyfriend, cat and I rode out the storm in the basement, and truly I thought, “Well, I am a good Red Crosser. App goes off, you take cover… it won’t be a big deal. It is November in Illinois. It isn’t tornado season”. But we all know now how wrong I was – tornadoes apparently don’t pay attention to the calendar.

You can imagine how scary my view of the sky was

What a year!

2013 was definitely a busy year for the Red Cross. If you wonder what we have been up to, then give this little video a whirl.

Still helping… 2 weeks later

Two weeks ago, tornadoes cut a swath through sections of Central Illinois, leaving death and destruction behind. Thousands were displaced when their homes were damaged or destroyed; left to figure out what they would do next.

American Red Cross volunteers have been on the scene from the start providing food, shelter and comfort  to those in need. As the Red Cross mission starts to shift to the long-term recovery phase volunteers continue to help clients  and will do so until the job is done.

The Red Cross has opened  Outreach Sites in East Peoria and Pekin and has Outreach Teams going through the affected areas to make contact with those who might need assistance. The sites and teams include a caseworker , health care and mental health volunteers.

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.

A Phone Call Away

Volunteers sat by the phones last Thursday night and Friday morning waiting for generous donations.  Individuals that wanted to donate money to the Red Cross to help out victims of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado disaster called in to the Red Cross Telethon.  The telethon spanned over these two days for a total of two and a half hours.

In those two and half hours, the phones rang 179 times.  Through the generous donations of all the individuals, the Red Cross of Central Illinois, was able to raise $10,355 that will go to Moore, Oklahoma.  The Red Cross thanks everyone involved for their support and contributions.

Even though I am not a morning person, it was my pleasure to be one of the volunteers working the telethon on Friday morning.  It was a humbling experience to see the amount of people that wanted to help out these families and friends that got hit by the devastating tornado. Every bit of money that was raised, will help and that’s what is so important.  No matter if someone gave $100 or $10 that means a lot to the people devastated and especially the people associated with the Red Cross.

People always say that you can not predict a crisis and that is a true statement.  However, it’s the preparation for these crises or disasters that means the world.  The Red Cross with the Disaster Prevention and Disaster Response programs was on call and prepared.  When this tornado hit, the Red Cross was there to help and they will continue to help in all ways possible.

After the Floodwaters Recede

When disaster strikes, the American Red Cross is there, working with people during their darkest hour, providing hope and help to communities during and after disaster.

Karen Young and her family have lived along the Wabash River in West Union, Illinois for more than 30 years. When a Red Cross Disaster Assessment Team met with Karen at her home on Mechanic Street in West Union (also called Old York) she explained that they have suffered through 4 or 5 floods, but this was by far the worst. Their primary home sustained 10 feet of water in the basement and came within an inch of flooding their living area.

In preparation for the flooding, Karen had been moving a lot of her personal treasures, including family keepsakes and hundreds of photos into the guest cottage, because it is on higher ground. The family thought it would be safer there, though she now knows that was wishful thinking. The cottage was swamped with three feet of water during the flood and she lost almost everything. Karen and her daughter spent the better part of a day separating pictures she recovered from the cottage in order to keep them from sticking together and being lost forever.

A friend brought a large truck and parked it in front of the cottage. The family had to wait for the floodwaters to recede before they could attempt to save items from the cottage. Once the waters retreated to the banks of the Wabash, they loaded many items in the truck. Unfortunately, after assessing the cottage, the Youngs realized many cherished belongs could not be salvaged, so they had an end-loader brought in and parked in front of the front door.

“We just kept hauling things out of the cottage and throwing them in the end loader bucket, and then we dropped it as garbage in the dumpster, it really hurt,” recalled Karen.

The Red Cross is providing clean up kits for the Young’s and others who are now working to salvage what they can and move towards recovery after these devastating floodwaters. If you are beginning the clean up in your home, be sure that you wear protective clothing, including rubber gloves and rubber boots. Make sure your food and water are safe.  Discard items that have come into contact with flood water, including canned goods, water bottles, and plastic utensils. When in doubt, throw it out!

For more information and details on where to get the Red Cross clean up kits call 1-800-REDCROSS or visit us online at www.redcross.org.

Karen shows a Red Cross volunteers her family photos she is trying to save.

Story by Nigel Holderby

Photos by Jerry LaGrow

No Man is an Island

This is an amazing story that I absolutely had to post.  Not only does it show the awesomeness of Red Cross volunteers, but it also illustrates an amazing story of neighbors helping neighbors in central Illinois.

Below is an overview of what happened to Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) drivers,  Jim Bob, Bernie and Deb, on their route in Mason county 2 days ago.

Jim Bob, Deb and Bernie loaded up their ERV to go on their mobile feeding route in Mason County.

After they finished their pre set route, they went a little off the beaten path and found this road in Lynchburg Township. After talking to a few locals, they discovered that there were approximately 40 homes on the other side with no way out.

Residents on the peninsula turned island were using boats to reach food and water.

One local man came upon the crew and said he would carry supplies to the other side. The crew was concerned, but he insisted his tractor would make it across.

So Deb, Bernie and Jim Bob loaded up his trailer with all the supplies they had left.

Clean up kits, food and water from the ERV were loaded for the stranded people on the other side.

With a full load, the local gentleman was on his way, through the flood waters.

He had solid road starting off.

But slowly the water got deeper.

This was the deepest it got and, according to Jim Bob, Deb and Bernie, it was a nail biting experience to watch the tractor make the trip.

Let me point out the obvious right now. No one should ever drive through flood waters. You have no idea whether the road underneath is washed away or how deep the water is, but this Mason County man would not be deterred.  He had traveled the route, and he knew how many people were at stake.  He risked his own safety to help his neighbors and prove that even though they were on an island, they were not alone.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet…

On a cresting a hill rolling into to Browning, Ill., American Red Cross workers met Pat Briney, rural letter carrier for the United States Postal Service. Browning is a small village of about 100 residents nestled into a valley along the Illinois River. Briney has been putting letters into mailboxes in the small community for more than a decade. She was happy to see the Red Cross, but teary-eyed for the people of the small town, especially the large population of senior citizens.

Briney described how Browning residents were virtually cut off because of the road closing. She said the residents would need to drive many, many miles on rural roads from the south end of the town just to get what they need.

“The post office is flooded up to its windows,” said Briney. “The water started Monday, and it’s inhabitable.”

Some other buildings in Browning were entirely surrounded by water. The town’s fire trucks and emergency vehicles had to be driven up to higher ground because the firehouse was flooded. A playground that would normally be filled with children’s laughter was filled with floodwater instead. Residents were still able to get two hot meals a day at the local senior center, where they could see the water lapping nearby as they looked out windows.

Browning is strong, resilient community. The Red Cross stands ready to support the needs of residents as the floodwaters recede. To support American Red Cross disaster relief for communities like Browning and others across the Midwest devastated by flooding, text REDCROSS to 90999, call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross.org.

A Community Bands Together

Tony and Alice Roy brace for impact as waters inch closer to their home.

Living along the Illinois River in East Peoria, this is not the first time this family has experienced flooding, but not of this magnitude.

“This has been the worst compared to 2008 and 2009 and it’s gonna get worse,” said Alice Roy.

The American Red Cross Central Illinois Chapter has a shelter set up in their neighborhood at the River’s Edge Methodist Church to prepare for what’s to come.

“We appreciate it – it was a blessing,” said Alice Roy. “The Red Cross is our family.”

BJ Watkins, who lives in the same neighborhood, says it is nice to see everyone pulling together in this time of need.

“You got to have a good spirit to live in a place like this,” said Watkins.

BJ returns home and finds he can’t get any closer than the mailbox.