Disaster – Page 4 – American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region

Staffing Red Cross Disaster Response

Kris Posey and Lori Olsson — Red Cross volunteer Kris Posey (right) helps get other volunteers, including Lori Olsson (left), quickly and safely out the door for disaster response.

Question: Who are those people working tirelessly to get Red Cross relief workers deployed to disaster locations, such as Superstorm Sandy? Answer: They’re Emergency Services Staffing volunteers!

In the case of our American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region, we’re talking about volunteers Kris Posey, Susan Waananen & Cari McCollor. Although they’re often not working on the ground in affected disaster areas, they’re working hard to get those who are responding in the field out the door quickly and safely.

Emergency Services volunteers work behind the scenes 24/7 when disaster occurs. They’re in the Red Cross offices on weekends monitoring email, helping arrange training and processing volunteers. They’ve been doing this nearly every day since before Superstorm Sandy made landfall on the East Coast. Every day, they return calls and answer emails that come in from our 700+ volunteers across our Red Cross region.

cari_hennatattoo — Hey, Cari, we like that henna tattoo!

In addition, we’ve had staff services volunteers in the office these past few weeks learning all there is to know about national deployment. Thank you Steve, Marcia, Lois, Bonnie, Barb, Jan & John. We’re building great capacity throughout our region.

Thank you to Emergency Services staffing volunteers. You help make our mission happen. And we love you for it!

P.S. Emergency Services staffing volunteers also deploy to disasters. Cari (pictured) is now on the East Coast working as part of the Red Cross field response to Superstorm Sandy. Return home happy and safe!

P.P.S. Question: Do you want to join our team? Answer: Yes, I do. I really really do 🙂

Stop Over And Make Someone Smile

Special Post From Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Dun Bui

Dun Bui photo — Dun Bui (far right) and other Red Cross disaster responders at the shelter in Oceanport, New Jersey.

Red Cross volunteers from Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin are working together at the shelter at Maple Place School in Oceanport, New Jersey.

Over 600 people have checked into the Red Cross shelter established at Maple Place School in Oceanport over the past 48 hours. Many have come in for a hot meal, chance to charge some electronic devices, file a claim with FEMA or just talk with a friendly volunteer.

A majority of the Red Cross volunteers are not even from this area or state. A husband and wife drove from Kentucky, one woman came in from Ohio, another from up-state New York while two others are from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Volunteers are needed at the shelter to assist with serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also people are needed to help watch and supervise children and play games with senior citizens. The shelter is open 24 hours. And if you can spare an hour or so, stop over and make someone smile.

Thank you to Dun Bui and the other 5,400 Red Cross volunteers responding to the Superstorm Sandy disaster on the East Coast. Take care and return home safe and happy.

And The Heroes Are Off

We have in our Red Cross region fabulous people who leave behind their lives and loved ones for days and days to help others in great need. Right now, twenty-five disaster relief workers from our Northern Minnesota region are responding to Superstorm Sandy. Twenty-two of those are volunteers. We’re incredibly grateful to have outstanding responders. We know that they’re doing great work. And, the heroes are off…

Sheldon Bruce, who will be gone for three weeks, says goodbye to his wife.

Lori Olsson brings snacks and cereal for the long drive ahead on a
Red Cross emergency response truck.

Steve Baltes (r) helps Jeff Skoog (l) and Diane Hofacker (c) map their deployment destinations where they will provide Mass Care and Sheltering assistance.

Open shelters according to the Red Cross Hurricane App.

Disaster Mental Health volunteer Larry Larson (r) gets important deployment information from Emergency Staffing Manager Theresa Moerbitz.

Sheldon Bruce is ready to roll.

Lori Olsson waves goodbye.

To support American Red Cross disaster relief visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected. (Story by Lynette Nyman and Megan Barnes; photos by Megan Barnes/American Red Cross)

A Farm House Burns Down

The fire started in the night on October 5, 2012. Linda, her husband Tom, and their dog Rex were asleep in their home on the Cook family homestead in Somerset, Wisconsin. Rex woke first. He nudged Tom’s arm then Tom woke Linda. Their house was on fire. Linda saw flames going up a wall. She went for the fire extinguisher. It was empty or broken. The fire spread fast. The century-old house turned out to be a tinder box ready to burn. Linda saw Rex through the smoke. She followed him outside. Her feet were bare. She wore pajamas. She looked for Tom. Linda thought he was behind her. “I turned around and he wasn’t there.” He was inside, somewhere inside a house filled with flames and smoke. He was somewhere in the house where he was born and where he spent most of his nights.

Linda met Tom at the old Stardust Room in Osceola, Wisconsin. “He went there every day. For our first date we went to the fair.” They married in 1974. “I said I’d never marry a trucker or a farmer and I married a man who was both.” Together, they raised five children. For years he worked as a local mechanic and farmed the Cook land with a horse-pulled tractor. Years earlier, in 1968, he lost a hand in a corn picker but he managed, choosing prosthesis for a working arm over a re-attached limp hand. He was no stranger to fire. A barn burned in 1991. Tom and Linda lost horses, cows, pigs, a dog and hundreds of hay bales. Linda baled hay too. “We worked side by side.”

Tom died in the fire. Linda says he will be remembered as a caring, loving guy. “He loved everybody. He loved his horses.” Tom was known in the area, Linda says, for his horses. They were regulars in the local parade. “We’d get the horses and away we went!”

During the funeral services, Tom’s ashes were held in a wooden box that his son Scott handmade. Farmers, truckers and others from around the area attended the services. Around 200 people paid their respects. Linda received hugs, many hugs. “My shoulders hurt from all the hugs.” Starting soon to rebuild her life, she wants to put a trailer on the farm. “I don’t want to leave the farm. Tom always said, if something happened to him, stay on the farm.” Red Cross emergency relief has helped to get her going. The Red Cross has been great, she says. “I didn’t know there was a Red Cross out here. I don’t even know how they got my name. I didn’t expect anybody.”

Wherever she goes and however long it takes to recover, Linda plans to have her dog Rex by her side. “Rex got me out. He’s my hero.” Seven years go Rex was a puppy offered for free at a farm auction. Now he’s a hero to everyone. To all those–Rex, too–who save and comfort our neighbors during great times of need, we express our heartfelt gratitude.

Story and photos by Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region. Photo descriptions: (1) a baking pan survived the fire; (2) the remains of the Cook farm house; (3) Scott Cook’s handmade box for his dad’s ashes; (4) Red Cross nurse Vonnie Thomas hugs Linda Cook where she’s staying with family in New Prague, Minnesota; and (5) Rex, 7 years old, canine hero and beloved family member.

Right now we’re helping someone after a fire

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Red Cross volunteers respond to a house fire in the south metro. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross

Right now the American Red Cross is helping someone recovering from a fire. Across our Northern Minnesota Region, we respond more than 400 fires each year. (And more than 63,000 across the nation annually.) That does not account for home fires that not requiring Red Cross assistance. In September, we experienced one of the busiest fire response months that Red Cross disaster volunteers have seen in quite a while. There were 48 responses region-wide, including a 12-unit apartment fire in Brainerd where all 12 families needed assistance. To date, October has been no-less busy with 14 incidents. Combined, we’ve assisted 329 people with emergency relief after a fire.

So, we feel compelled to ask: are you prepared for a fire? Are you ready to not return for hours, days, or maybe never to the home you have now? Take a moment to answer those questions. Then what?

The Red Cross recommends two easy steps to help protect your home and loved ones from a fire: get a smoke alarm and create a fire escape plan.

Smoke alarms save lives. Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half.*
- Place smoke alarms on every level of your home, including bedrooms.
- Test smoke alarms once a month and replace batteries at least once a year.
- Fires can spread quickly and every second counts. Having a plan in place can help you escape, but less than one-fourth of Americans have actually made a plan and practiced it.*
  - Home fire plans should include at least two ways to escape from every room of your home.
  - Select a meeting spot at a safe distance from your home where family members can meet after a fire.
  - Discuss the plan with everyone in the household and practice it at least twice a year.
  - For more information visit http://www.redcross.org/homefires.

Download the American Red Cross First Aid App to get access to life-saving information on what to do for common, everyday first aid emergencies. The app is available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play for Android.

* Statistics provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Disaster Training Institute Makes Triumphant Return

Nancy and Mike — Red Cross disaster relief volunteers Nancy Young and Mike Hofmann work together during a training scenario during the 2012 Minnesota North Star Disaster Training Institute, Camp Ripley, Little Falls, MN. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross

The Minnesota North Star Disaster Training Institute made a triumphant return in early October when around 150 volunteers from 9 states turned out for a chance to build their American Red Cross disaster response skills. Both rookie and veteran disaster relief workers attended. This was no surprise for Megan Mrozek who serves as Emergency Services Director for the American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region. “The disaster institute is a great way to train, network, and practice together.” Mrozek and five others were the key organizers of the training institute. Instructors included experienced disaster responders from across Minnesota and surrounding states.

Long-time responder and instructor Vonnie Thomas faced dozens in a Psychological First Aid course. “Your impact is so important,” she told them. Several shared stories about their personal experiences working with families during disaster response. Sometimes the emotional trauma touches the responder. Vonnie reassured them saying, “It’s okay to cry with a client. I’ve said, I need a Kleenex, too.”

The Institute’s course roster was thorough, offering everything from conducting disaster assessment and learning how to drive a Red Cross mobile feeding truck to managing a shelter and collaborating for success when delivering Red Cross relief services. More than anything, said Mrozek, the training institute gave people a chance to sit next to others. “It helps when you recognize the faces of fellow relief workers when responding to disaster.”

Grant-funded, the current hope is to hold the North Star Training Institute every two years. Click here to learn more about Red Cross opportunities and services. Click here to see more photos from the training.

Story and photos by Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross

Hawkeye Fist Bump

No disaster is fun—seriously, we would all prefer doing something other than running or recovering from a flood, tornado, or fire. But a positive-side of things short list might include “disasters, a chance to meet new people.”

Take Sarah Farr and Nick Stanley. We bumped into them the other day while they rested at a Red Cross shelter after a fire burned their Edina, Minnesota, apartment building. Sarah heard the fire alarm before Nick, “Sarah woke me up. And I said, is everybody else outside? Could this be a false alarm?” Then they saw lots of people standing on the lawn. Once outside, they watched and waited with the others. “It was the first time we talked to many of our neighbors,” says Sarah.

Parklawn Apt Fire — Among the important items grabbed during the escape, Nick Stanley’s computer, showing here a photo he took of the burned apartments. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross

The fire spared their unit but no utilities meant no re-entry until officials gave the A-Okay sometime later. So, rather than coach surf with friends or family, the two slept in their SUV and eventually made their way to the Red Cross shelter. And yay for that! We got to meet two sweet peeps who turned out to be Hawkeye fans. (Some of us aren’t Hawkeye fans per se but Iowa farm family connections make us supporters in spirit.)

It was nice meeting you, Sarah and Nick, and we wish you the very best. But if we meet again let’s agree that it will under more fun circumstances.

P.S. We’d still like you bunches even if you’d turned out to be Cyclone fans.

Banging on doors, pounding on windows saves lives

Story and photos by Red Cross Volunteer Amy Conger

HudsonFire_July 05, 2012_103_crop — Nathan Steen (l) receives comfort kits for his children from Red Cross disaster relief volunteer John Trieb, July 5, 2012. Photo credit: Amy Conger/American Red Cross

Hudson, Wisconsin resident Nathan Steen was watching TV around 2:30 in the morning, July 5, 2012, when he started to smell an odd, almost chemical-like, smell in his basement apartment. He opened the door to his unit and was shocked to see thick black smoke in the hallway. Running to the fire alarm pull switch in the hallway, he yanked it several times but did not hear the alarm. Nathan couldn’t see flames or the source of the fire, so he went back to his apartment, woke his wife and two children, and called then called 911. He then ran to the other apartments, banging on doors to alert his neighbors to the fire. He was pounding on windows from outside, yelling “Fire!”, when the police arrived and began to assist getting people out from the other 9 units of the building.

HudsonFire_July 05, 2012_108 — Red Cross disaster relief volunteer Jason Winget (l) assisted resident Jannelle Waara following the Hudson apartment fire, July 5, 2012. Photo credit: Amy Conger/American Red Cross

The other residents report opening their doors to thick black smoke before rushing out of the building. A main concern of all the residents was the failure of the alarms to sound. Nathan Steen was truly a hero to alert everyone to the danger before it spread to other areas of the building. The fire appears to have occurred in a basement storage area, but the incident is under investigation by the Hudson Police Department.

HudsonFire_July 05, 2012_109_crop — Kevin Williams (c) shares his surprise about Red Cross disaster relief with volunteer Jason Winget, July 5, 2012. Photo credit: Amy Conger/American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteer workers Jason Winget and John Trieb assisted residents of the two lower units with emergency disaster relief. They will be able to return to their homes after the smoke damage is cleared. Everyone assisted by the Red Cross was thankful for the help. Kevin Williams, who was displaced by the fire with his mother, said that the Red Cross helped bring relief and comfort to them. He didn’t know that Red Cross volunteers helped people in situations like this and said that he would consider volunteering himself in the future to help others dealing with disaster from fire.

Visit our website redcrossmn.org to learn more about Red Cross services and opportunities.

¡Muchas Gracias Viviana!

This month way say “adios amiga” to our friend and co-worker Viviana Sotro who has accepted an executive director position at a local Latino family organization.

For twelve years, Sotro has provided emergency preparedness education to thousands of people across the Minneapolis-St.Paul metro area. In the Latino community alone, she has reached around 10,000 people with safety & preparedness education, which she believes is worthwhile. “I can say, yes, preparedness education makes a difference. I can see it on their faces. They say, now I know.”

Trained as a Red Cross EMT in Argentina, Sotro has long understood that diverse communities in Minnesota might need to learn about being safe during severe weather and other emergencies. “I could relate to them because most people from Latin countries have never experienced tornadoes.” In 2002, Sotro joined the Red Cross in Minnesota as a volunteer and the following year she accepted a staff position. Later, she became the community outreach manager guiding staff and volunteers in their work teaching people from Africa, Asia, and Latin America who now make Minnesota their home. “I really like to be respectful of other cultures. Everyone has something unique to appreciate.”

Although Sotro is departing her Red Cross job, she plans to continue being involved as a volunteer. Her hope, she says, is that diverse community engagement with the Red Cross increases. “I would like to see more Latinos wearing Red Cross t-shirts as volunteers.” She would especially like to see more people from diverse communities become Red Cross instructors, disaster relief workers, and good samaritans trained in CPR & First Aid.

Thank you, Viviana, for being a part of the Red Cross and helping to fulfill our mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering. We wish you and your family the very best.

Why Do We Share Disaster Survivor Stories?

Tornado survivor Martha Hall, 65, had no time to escape her house in West Liberty, Kentucky, on March 2, 2012. "We heard the roaring," says Hall. "It kept going and going and never stopped."

“…the brain prioritizes stories over statistics, and the more personalized the stories, the more powerful the imprint,” writes TIME contributor Amanda Ripley in her introduction to the magazine’s current special issue Time: Disasters that Shook the World. “…there is great practical value in telling stories, particularly when they are told with useful lessons attached.”

The TIME special issue marks the 100th anniversary of the RMS Titanic sinking on April 15, 1912. New research continues to teach us more about how the accident happened and why many died. Much of what we know—and what moves us emotionally to take action—comes from disaster survivor stories.

In this corner, covered with a mattress and blankets, Martha Hall and her brother survived the the tornado. "It went BOOM," says Hall. "We could feel the house move."

The Red Cross knows this. We provide essential disaster relief to the most vulnerable among us. During relief response, we have the privilege of serving as listeners while people talk to us about remarkable acts of courage, strength, and resilience. We share their stories because personal accounts inspire you to give money for disaster relief, to take steps for being prepared for emergencies, and to become a Red Cross volunteer who makes disaster relief happen.

Red Cross disaster relief worker Anita Foster hugs Martha Hall, who was recovering personal items from her home destroyed by the March 2 tornado in West Liberty, Kentucky.

During this time of remembering the Titanic, we encourage you to continue to learn about people affected by disasters here and around the world. Additional ready resources include redcross.org, ifrc.org, and icrc.org.

Post and images by Lynette Nyman, American Red Cross. Amanda Ripley is the author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes–and Why.

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