In light of the recent devastating events in Japan, Red Cross volunteers throughout New York State spent Saturday morning setting up disaster shelters in mock simulation training drills for a real disaster emergency. It didn’t take long for volunteers to set up shelters with cots, bedding, comfort kits, food and radio communications. All morning, mock clients were signed into the shelter and scheduled for emergency services.
Of course, there was no emergency, but this exercise was an opportunity for Red Cross disaster volunteers to review procedures and get familiar with new shelter registration materials. In the South Central American Red Cross Region, 10 shelters were set up in Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties.
Bob Bell, a volunteer for the Sullivan Trail Chapter in Elmira said the exercise gave experienced volunteers practice while showing new aides how shelters operate. Elmira chapter volunteers set up a nurse’s station, made breakfast and lunch in the kitchen and set up a registration table for people to sign in.
Kathleen Rourke of the Tompkins County Chapter said the exercise was a great way for volunteers to get experience working together while getting familiar with the layout and facilities of the BOCES Smith School, one of the Tompkins County emergency sheltering sites. She said BOCES was very cooperative and easy to work with and was especially grateful to David Pitcher, supervisor of BOCES facilities services.
Local amateur radio operators were also on hand for the drill. Larry Peterson of Big Flats, said he had been communicating by radio with the Red Cross shelter in Schuyler County and with other operators at the National Weather Service in Binghamton. In Tompkins County, the disaster volunteers depended solely on the participating amateur radio operators to convey information about the shelter to county emergency services personnel and to Red Cross headquarters.
The messages sent by the radio operators were only test messages. In an actual emergency messages about how people are doing at the shelter and requests to move people or bring supplies would be communicated.
