Disaster Assessment... Shawnee Fire 5/10/13

Ever have one of those days where you don't want to do anything but sleep all day? I was having that kind of day today. If you have been following my blog you may have read that I struggle with depression and PTSD. It's a new diagnosis for me and is a result of several stressful events over the past year or so including the fire that took my kitty Cosmo from me as well as all my possessions. I have good days and bad days. Today started out as a bad day...

I wasn't on call for the Red Cross today but my phone rang around 3pm with a call from the Red Cross to assist at an apartment fire. I am currently only working part-time so I was home and available to respond to the call. It was an apartment fire in Shawnee. The location wasn't too far from me and I ended up being the first Red Cross Volunteer to arrive on scene. The Shawnee Fire Incident Commander was teasing me because I behaved and actually parked behind a patrol car instead of cross through the barrier the patrol car created without asking permission (the Shawnee PD officer would tease me about it later as well!). That meant I had to walk up the hill to the apartment complex (instead of drive up closer) and the Incident Commander was teasing me to run up to him. I wish I could remember names but unfortunately that's one of the many things I am terrible at! Shawnee Fire and Police were great today! They provided the info we (Red Cross) needed to get the residents assistance. Many times we are contacted late enough in to the incident that fire and police have already left by time we arrive. It's always nice to see fire and police still on the scene when possible because they can provide us relevant information about what actually happened but also who really lives in the residence. In some cases we sometimes need assistance with crowd control as well. Fire and other disasters tends to draw looksyloos (as well as not so honest people that look to take advantage in disaster situations) which can make for a dangerous situation for us and those residents actually impacted by the disaster. Anyhoo, Shawnee Fire and Police were still on scene and provided the assistance we needed to gather up the residents who were affected and provide them the assistance they needed while not worrying about the onlookers getting in the way. We always wait for fire to tell us it's safe to enter a residence before we go in to do the damage assessment. If the fire department has already left the scene by time we arrive we can't always do our assessment and that's why we like to see them still on scene when we arrive. It's as much for our safety as it is for the residents. It's also nice when fire or police recognize volunteers and say "Hi" as well as do what they can to provide assistance. Some of the fire fighters today recognized me from my fire and asked how I was doing. That's a nice gesture especially since it has been over a year ago and many people have already forgotten about it. A fire like the one I experienced in Feb 2012 isn't something you get over quickly so I appreciate that the fire fighters asked how I was doing!

Thanks for the help today Shawnee Fire and Police!

One apartment unit was completely destroyed, 2 others were affected by smoke and 3 others were aired out so that carbon monoxide was not an issue for those residents. In all, the Red Cross assisted 6 adults and an infant. My day is always brighter when I am able to help provide assistance to others! I would call today a good day...