Partnerships help make a difference in a disaster
NOVEMBER 5, 2022
By John Seward
The American Red Cross spends a lot of time preparing for a disaster. From gathering volunteers to engaging our government partners, the entire community is involved in disaster preparedness. When disasters strike, we rely on our strong relationships with our local and county governments to respond to and recover from a disaster. This past week our partnerships proved once again to be paramount.
On Thursday November 3, 2022, tragedy struck at the Club Valencia in unincorporated Arapahoe County. A fire at this multifamily condominium complex affected 85 units and displaced more than 100 people. Our partners at South Metro Fire Rescue gave us a call shortly after their first unit had arrived on scene, they knew we were in for a big disaster and knew that the Red Cross stood ready to answer the call for help. For hours on Thursday night, Red Cross volunteers and South Metro Public Information Team sought to provide compassion, comfort and care to the hundreds of people impacted.
Next came the hard part of figuring out where folks could stay. Our mass care volunteers pulled out their phones and started calling churches, recreation centers and schools to open an overnight shelter. With no success, we turned to another partner, the Arapahoe County Office of Emergency Management (OEM). Our partners from Arapahoe County OEM have now been with us every step of the way. County Emergency Manager Nathan Fogg and his team responded to the fire site and together our teams started planning the next steps.
County OEM staff identified a shelter location at the County Fairgrounds, arranged bus transportation and even pulled out their old COVID surge shelter trailer to set up the cots. In the days since, OEM staff have rallied the county and state resources by bringing in Arapahoe County Community resources and Human Services to the shelter and providing logistical support. Together we opened a disaster assistance center and arranged for a shuttle to rotate between the fire site, shelter and the center to ensure resources were available for all.
As the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer agency active in disaster (VOAD), it is the mission of the American Red Cross to prevent and elevate suffering in the face of disaster. This is why we respond to disasters big and small every day. Our work is only possible thanks to our government partners like Arapahoe County OEM and South Metro Fire Rescue and incredible Red Cross volunteers and donors.
You can learn more about American red Cross disaster relief by visiting: www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief.html
