“...exciting and terrifying with a feeling of accomplishment tossed in for good measure.”
By Pat Kondas, American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming Public Affairs
When there’s a house fire or other local emergency, American Red Cross workers are not normally first responders. That’s the job of firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians. But sometimes they’re the same person.
Meet Rebecka Brayton: A Pine Bluffs Firefighter, EMT and Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteer. Oh, and she also works for an insurance company; so, as she says, “I see loss and recovery from every aspect.”
Rebecka’s enthusiasm is apparent. She says, “I love being a firefighter/EMT and have even worked with the same people (Wyoming being a less populated state) in multiple volunteer roles.” She says, “It’s an emotional boost for me to be able to round out someone else’s life with just what I’ve gleaned from being a volunteer.”
About her eight years of Red Cross service, Rebecka says, “I’ll do anything: drive an Emergency Response Vehicle, hangout at a [fair] booth, run a DAT call, install a fire alarm, anything you call me for.”
Rebecka is especially fond of the Sound the Alarm program and is spearheading the Home Fire Campaign in Pine Bluffs. She looks at it as “preventing a DAT call.” That’s understandable, considering how she remembers her first call: “Oh yeah, my first DAT call has stuck forever in my brain. That was exciting and terrifying with a feeling of accomplishment tossed in for good measure.”
Originally from Tennessee, Rebecka has become a valuable member of the Wyoming Red Cross volunteer team. In the future, she is interested in Disaster Spiritual Care and possibly deploying, though it may be years before she has the time required for deployment.