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Red Cross Plans Damascus Shelter Exercise For September
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Lise Harwin / Sierra Baldwin
 
August 28, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A fast moving wildfire has broken out in heavily wooded areas just 10 miles east of Damascus. Fifty residents will be forced out of their homes – would you be able to help?

On Friday, Sept. 25, the Damascus Community Church – 14251 SE Rust Way – will serve as a shelter in an evacuation exercise hosted by the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross and designed to prepare Damascus for a disaster. The exercise will run from Friday, Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m. through Saturday, Sept. 26 at noon. Dinner and breakfast will be provided for volunteers.

During the two-day exercise, experienced Red Cross volunteers will demonstrate the opening, operation and closure of an evacuation shelter. The successful establishment of a shelter requires trained volunteers willing to dedicate their time and energy to help their community. Damascus residents are invited to observe and shadow the process of setting up a shelter; providing food; offering health and mental health services and much more.

This isn't the first time that the Red Cross has helped get Damascus prepared. Earlier this summer, the Oregon Trail Chapter held a barbeque and introductory shelter demonstration for community members. The success of the event opened the door to September's larger-scale exercise.

When the September demonstration is complete, Damascus residents will have the proper training and the confidence to set up a safe and comforting shelter. "Everyone always talks about preparation, or thinks about it," said Red Cross volunteer and exercise planner Michael Rudis. "With the possibility of future floods, storms and other disasters, now is the time to take action."

Community members interested in attending the exercise are asked to RSVP to Curtis Peetz at peetzc@redcross-pdx.org by Friday, September 18.

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In Oregon, the American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disaster every eight hours; supplies more than 90 percent of Oregon's blood; teaches thousands of Oregonians lifesaving skills; offers transportation to seniors and the disabled; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization – not a government agency – and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.oregonredcross.org or join our award-winning blog at www.oregonredcross.org/blog.