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Newsroom Chapter Blog
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May
7
5/7/2009 12:28 PM
 There is no "typical disaster" when on the Disaster Action Team (DAT). We usually deal with fires, although last spring we responded to quite a few victims of flash flooding. Many fires fall into some basic category. Kitchen fires are fairly common in many communities. When we arrive we often have to help our client deal with their own self anger at having turned on the wrong burner or having left a pot on the stove and forgotten it. If the food is unusable because of the kitchen fire we usually give the client financial assistance for a small amount of food until they can get their lives and kitchen straightened out. Electrical fires many times destroy bedrooms and other rooms in the house. We often need to provide "psychological first aid" to help the client come to grips with the randomness of disasters. When clothing is destroyed we often provide financial assistance to purchase some replacement clothing - many times our clients are standing outside their home in their "jammies and house slippers". Fires are the usual responses for the DAT.
Last week my team was called to responded to a "car into a house" disaster. Not the usual! It was reported that an elderly driver ran a red light at a busy residential intersection. She was hit by a car going through a green. She became upset and disoriented and put the care in reverse and gunned the engine. She zoomed up a sloped lawn, knocked down a 5 inch tree and kept going. She crashed into a brick and stone home hitting a bedroom where a father was attempting to get his three year old special needs child to take a nap. Luckily neither father nor child was injured though the driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The fire department responded to the emergency call and determined that the gas, power and water to the house needed to be shut off. They would not allow the family to return to the house, though the firefighters were able to bring out purses, play pens and clothing for the family's immediate needs. Once the incident commander determined that the family had nowhere to stay for the night he immediately called the Red Cross. We responded and provided with financial assistance for food and a night's stay at a local hotel.
There is never a "usual disaster" but some are certainly more unusual than others! No matter what the disaster, the American Red Cross is there to help.
-Dan Stokes
Dan Stokes is a volunteer for the St. Louis Area Chapter
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1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Dan Stokes - Not the Usual Disaster
Dan--it's great to know that you, and all the DAT volunteers, are on the job. Thank you for all you do.
By Jessica on
5/13/2009 9:08 PM
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