Huda Khan
Assignment 12: Wildfire Response Planning Activity
Role: Red Cross Coordinator
- Find out what tasks you would need to perform and what information you would need to do your job.
After reviewing some individual wildfire plans and visiting the Red Cross website, Red Cross activities a wildfire response seem to be as follows:
- a) Evacuation and Shelter Services:
If the need to evacuate residents from their homes exist, the Red Cross should be notified of this need as well as the expected number of evacuees. The Red Cross can then designate routes and shelters and confirm which shelters should be used. If shelters are not available, then the Red Cross must make other arrangements (set up their own shelters, emergency aid stations, etc.)
The Red Cross should be told where dangerous areas are so that the Red Cross can set up evacuation and shelter areas outside of that zone. The Red Cross is responsible for designating, contracting for, and setting up these shelters for evacuees.
At these evacuation centers, food, shelter,family assistance, and counseling is provided.
- b) Family Services:
The Red Cross should provide Family Notification services and set up evacuation centers to provide shelter.
- c) Crisis Counseling:
Counseling for emergency victims should be provided by the Red Cross.
- d) Coordinate private and volunteer organizations:
The Red Cross will take care of coordinating volunteers and private organizations that wish to help.
- e) Feeding Services and Food Distribution:
The Red Cross will provide food if need be for both emergency personnel and residents and the public.
Communication between Red Cross personnel can be carried out with the help of "Races" or Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. Transporation for evacuation can be provided for by the local area school buses, transportation, ambulances, etc. The notification of when evacuation should take place is usually provided by the Incident Commander.
As coordinator, I would be communicating with the various emergency organizations to see where food and water distribution should take place for the emergency personnel, designating evacuation shelters or the setting up of emergency shelters, coordinating the presence of family and crisis counseling at the shelters, the transportation of evacuees safely to the shelters, and coordinating volunteer efforts by private and volunteer organizations and individuals.
References:
- Emergency Plans/Local Services
- Lincoln County Emergency Operations Plan, http://www.montana-grassroots.com/emergopsplan.htm
- ADA County Wildfire Response Plan, http://www.accem.org/pdf/wildfire.pdf
- American Red Cross, Partners in Wildfire Preparedness with Local State Foresters, US Forest Service, (FireWise Colorado), http://www.firewise.org/co/arc/
- Red Cross Services during Disasters, http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/
- National Association for Amateur Radio, http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2000/06/16/5/
- http://chapters.redcross.org/me/portland/enews0705.html
|
![[spacer]](/schemes/blue/line.gif){kind=small}
