Grantsboro — On July 18, 2009 a trailer carrying a lethal chemical was struck by a car and released a chemical that caused the death of two individuals and sent others to the hospital. First responders from the county were dispatched to the scene but had to wait for personnel trained and equipped to handle hazardous materials. In the meantime they used a water spray to keep the chemical contained.
The American Red Cross (ARC) was there with their Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) providing hydration and food for the responders.
The above is a summary news article that might have appeared in a newspaper but also summarizes the events of the day.
Thanks to the volunteer base interested in feeding the ARC turn out was greater in comparison to the first responders. This was a remark relayed to me from Stanley Kite the Craven County Fire Marshal. Those that showed up received new vests (thanks to the Bate foundation.) We all had our “good guys” white hats on.
I had been led to believe that the event might be at or near the intersection of Rt. 55 and 306. That is the location of the only traffic light in Pamlico Community County. A little trivia for those who didn’t know. A conversation with a county commissioner the night before reinforced that belief. We had been told to be at the community college which would have been a logical “safe” area for rest and refreshment. I had actually visited the college the day before and there was nothing but empty parking lots. Just like going on a DR; we figured things would work out the next day but not without further modification.
The ARC set up a safe distance away from the scene. Tables, chairs, and a canopy were stationed to provide a rest area for the workers. It’s hard keeping up with what’s going on because the focus is on the important stuff of the incident.
Our first instructions were to pull up next to the curb and vapor fans. We should have taken a clue from the fans. They were not filled with water and they were not plugged in nor were there provisions to plug them in. Not noticing that, we set all our stuff up and planned to serve meals and refreshments from the ERV. It was hard figuring out what was going on but it soon became evident that this was an exercise and each element was taking its turn. So, we just kicked back and watched and waited. When was it going to be our turn? It wasn’t that hot and the liquids were going slow.
I had taken the Cambros to the Piggly Wiggly the day before and arranged for them to be picked up at 11:30 on Saturday. The food would still be at temperature at 1:00 when the meals were planned to be served but now it looked like things would wrap up before 1:00.
PLANS CHANGE, THE AMERICAN RED CROSS ADAPTS
If there is one thing we are good at it’s change. So, we felt as useful as the dummy fan misters we were next to. Food that was going to be served from the ERV at the sidewalk at 1pm was changed to a service building behind the college at 12:15am. We can do that. Kevin and Jennifer went after the food at 11:30 when the Piggly Wiggly said it would be ready and got it back just before 12am.
The Cambros never cease to amaze me. They keep food so hot for such a long period of time. We have come back from multi-hour runs and still find the food hot when we clean up. One thing was different here. An ARC kitchen did not prepare the food and therefore Cambro liners were not available. There may have been some in the ERV but they were there since last summer and I could not verify that they were sanitary. The staff at Piggly Wiggly just put the food in the Cambros after cleaning them. This is not usually done because the surface of the Cambro can be scratched with utensils and catch food particles that could lead to contamination.
With food in the ERV we moved to the new location behind the college. Our original plan was to plate the food into clamshells and pass them out through the ERV window to the First Responders. Assessing the situation I decided that we would serve the food cafeteria style inside the building. Tables and chairs had been set up and it seemed that it would be a better environment for all. Everything could be laid out on a couple of table tables and we could use more servers than we could in the ERV. Servers had personal interaction with the First Responders. This is similar to what is done when providing food to shelters. Most of the time food is plated in the ERV and passed out the window either to clients or shelter staff. On occasion, food containers are carried inside the shelter and served in there.
Authors: Tom and Ruth Ann McIvor, Dedicated Red Cross Disaster Volunteers
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