Tag: DCS

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Families safer in Plainview after smoke alarm installation

Story and photos by Richard Underdahl-Peirce, Red Cross Volunteer

The American Red Cross and the Plainview Fire Department in Minnesota worked together to install more than 300 smoke alarms on September 19, 2015. Photo credit: Richard Underdahl-Peirce/American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross and the Plainview Fire Department worked together to install more than 300 smoke alarms on September 19, 2015.

On a crisp and sunny Saturday morning, thirty-eight volunteers spread out across Plainview, Minnesota, to install more than 300 smoke alarms in family homes. On the previous Saturday, volunteers had canvassed around 400 homes in the community to identify where new fire detectors should be added or old ones replaced. Now, on September 19, 2015, firefighters, community and American Red Cross volunteers went in teams of three to five to install the new fire alarms and to give home safety materials concerning home fire prevention and escape planning as part of the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign.

Jake and Bobbie Sievers, and their son (r), survived a house fire in Plainview, MN, in 2014. Photo credit: Richard Underdahl-Peirce/American Red Cross.
On hand for the Home Fire Campaign, Jake and Bobbie Sievers, and their son (r), survived a house fire in Plainview, MN, in 2014.

As the volunteers gathered at the Plainview Fire Department, the Sievers family was there to greet and thank them for the Red Cross help they received following a home fire disaster. A year ago Bobbie and Jake, and their young son, escaped from a fire that damaged the front of their house and up into the rafters. Red Cross volunteers responded, providing food and clothing for humanitarian relief after the disaster. Finally, last December, they moved back home with much appreciation for the assistance they had received from local American Red Cross volunteers. The Sievers family was a concrete reminder to the volunteers of the importance of what they were doing this day.

Red Cross volunteer Donny Schreibo installs a smoke alarm in Plainview, MN, on September 19, 2015.
Red Cross volunteer Donny Schreibo installs a smoke alarm during the Home Fire Campaign in Plainview, MN, on September 19, 2015.

Volunteers came from Plainview and neighboring communities. Some, like Bev Holzheu, from Zumbrota, also had helped in the pre-canvassing in Lake City, where home safety materials and smoke alarms were given out by Red Cross volunteers. Others, like Michael Burgdorf, were long-time residents of Plainview and fire department volunteers as well.

Residents receiving the smoke alarms ranged from young parents to senior citizens. Sarah Hassig, a mother with young children, had three new smoke alarms installed in the home where they have lived for ten years. James Haley, a twenty year home owner and proud grandparent, also had three new smoke alarms installed. His three dogs delighted in being petted by the visitors – one of the side benefits of being a Red Cross Home Fire Campaign volunteer!

Homeowner Sarah Hassig received Red Cross home fire safety materials and also had 3 smoke alarms installed during the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign outreach in Plainview, MN, on September 19, 2015. Photo credit: Richard Underdahl-Peirce.
Sarah Hassig received home fire safety materials and had 3 smoke alarms installed during the Home Fire Campaign in Plainview, MN, on September 19, 2015.

The morning passed quickly, and the volunteers enjoyed rolls provided by the local Kwik Trip, plus water and pop on their return to the fire department. But most of all they left with the thanks of dozens of residents, and the satisfaction of improving the safety of the homes of so many men, women and children.

Super awesome: an additional 143 smoke alarms were installed on Sunday and during the following week! To learn more about the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, click here. To get involved, contact your local Red Cross. 

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In Saipan, every interview was the start of a new day

BobPearce_photo2American Red Cross volunteer Bob Pearce recently returned from deployment to Saipan where he worked directly with more than 400 people affected by Typhoon Soudelor. New to the Red Cross, the typhoon relief operation in Saipan was Bob’s first large-scale response. He’s already responding to his second, serving as a virtual volunteer from his home base in Minnesota for the Red Cross response to the wildfires in California. Below, Bob shares with us his Saipan experience.

Information about Typhoon Soudelor and its damage may be interesting, but it doesn’t tell the real or whole story. Many of the Red Cross volunteers used the term resilient to describe the islanders. Others said they were patient. For me, the people of Saipan are remarkable.

Tin roof & coconut treeSaipan is a 12 by 5.5 mile island in the south Pacific. Guam, Tinian, Rota and Saipan form the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, a United States Territory. With a small garment manufacturing industry in continuing decline, the 53,883 residents of Saipan have relied on tourism to help their economy. So, when Typhoon Soudelor slammed into the island in the late night and early morning hours of August 2 and 3, 2015, damage was felt in more than one way.

Winds from the Category III Typhoon broke the NWS anemometer on Saipan at 91mph. Whatever their speed, the winds were sufficient to snap off over 300 power poles on the island, far exceeding the 80-some spares stored for an emergency. Rain and wind-driven sea water also damaged generating plants, further hampering infrastructure recovery. Without power, processing and delivery of fresh and waste water were still further casualties of the storm.

Cleanup of splintered and downed trees from roads began immediately. Hotels and a few businesses, including gas stations, fired up emergency generators and began providing needed services during daylight hours.

The U.S. Navy moved three ships from Guam to Saipan to provide fresh water for the island. People drove cautiously through intersections formerly controlled by traffic signals. And neighbors helped neighbors dig out from the remains of their homes. The same winds and water that knocked out electrical power and stopped road traffic, had also destroyed or seriously damaged well over 500 homes, and many hundreds of other residences were also damaged to some extent.

NMI ChapterIn the first hours after the typhoon, the Northern Mariana Islands Chapter of the American Red Cross mobilized ten core volunteers plus a trained group of 14 other local volunteers. Together with chapter staff, this initial response force began providing immediate assistance to many of the more than 2000 people who called for help. Gradually, the chapter response was supplemented by volunteers from “the mainland,” which is the islanders’ term for the continental U.S. Minnesota provided four of those volunteers, who served in Disaster Health Services (DHS), Disaster Services Technology (DST), and client casework.

Local residents began lining up at the chapter office early each morning, well before the generator was started, DST had reset all systems, and the doors were opened. With daily preparations and briefings completed, health services and client casework volunteers began seeing local residents by 9:00 each morning, and continued well into the evening until there were no more lines. Estimates of the number of clients seen ranged from 200 to 500 daily, seven days a week, for the first couple of weeks. Direct Assistance to Saipan Households (DASH), ranged from cans of food, bottles of water, and bags of rice, to financial assistance cards for people to use for disaster-related needs.

BobPearce_photoSaipan definitely has a slower lifestyle than many of us are accustomed to, yet there’s more to the calm and peace that the residents exhibit. Each client greeted us with a warm smile and a firm handshake. Every interview was the start of a new day. One after another, they thanked the Red Cross volunteers for being there. Most of the islanders have little compared to what many of us have. On the other hand, they have so much. They are happy, generous and content. Saipan is unique and its people exceptional in the face of disaster.

To learn more about how to become a Red Cross volunteer, click here. For more about the Red Cross disaster relief response in Saipan, click here.
Photos provided courtesy of Bob Pearce.

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What does a Red Cross nurse do during disaster?

Story and photos by Vivi Engen, American Red Cross Intern, Minnesota Region

The Disaster Health Services Nursing kit is condensed into one duffle bag and can serve up to 50 people at a shelter.
The Disaster Health Services Nursing kit is condensed into one duffle bag and can serve up to 50 people at a shelter.

During large-scale disasters, Red Cross nurses serve as the initial medical response at a shelter. They assess basic medical needs of clients and address quick and easy fixes, such as a cut or sprain. Anything more severe is treated at a hospital.

To speed nursing response during disaster, the Disaster Health Services team in Minnesota recently introduced a nursing kit that will be used at shelters during responses across the state.

The kit, which is condensed inside a single duffle bag, provides a quick-response supply for up to 50 individuals. Supplies include over-the-counter medication, wound dressings, CPR masks, bandages, protective gear and more.

Kami Buccellato goes through the supplies inside the Nursing Kit.
Kami Buccellato goes through the supplies inside the Nursing Kit.

“The kit provides the nursing staff with the materials needed to serve as a starting point for clients,” says Kami Buccellato, the Twin Cities Deputy Lead for Disaster Health Services and one of the creators of the nursing kit. “It’s still a work in progress, but we have already seen good results.”

Earlier this year, the kit was used for the first time at a shelter after an apartment fire. Disaster Health Services received positive feedback on the condensed bag and was happy to report that the kit contained its critical response supplies.

The idea for a nursing kit surfaced when responders showed up to shelters with duplicated supplies. “Duplicated supplies decreases efficiency,” says Buccellato. “In a disaster setting, everything is already chaotic, so anything that we can do to increase organization helps.”

A look at the contents inside the Nursing Kit.
A look at the contents inside the Nursing Kit.

The American Red Cross is always looking for new nurses who are ready to be put on the disaster scene. “Any nurse looking to gain experience, meet new people, and share knowledge is welcome in Disaster Health Services,” says Buccellato.

Are you a nurse? Have you ever thought about volunteering? If so, the Red Cross wants you. To apply, click here.

About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation’s blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission. The Minnesota Region serves 5.2 million people across Minnesota and part of western Wisconsin with offices in Duluth, Mankato, Minneapolis, Rochester and St. Cloud. For more information, please visit redcross.org/mn.  Like us on Facebook: American Red Cross Minnesota Region. Follow us on Twitter: @mnredcross

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