Sunday, April 25, 2010

6th Red Cross DAT Call

Saturday night after I was settling down I got a phone call for a DAT response in Fullerton.

I had to go pick up the Red Cross van at the fire station and meet my DAT supervisor at a local hospital where the client was taken to be treated for mild smoke inhallation.

We arrived and I listened to their story while paperwork was filled out. It didn't sound like a big fire, and the client said that her neighbors had knocked on her door to wake her up. After finding a valid hotel on the list, the client was discharged and we went back to the apartment to to survey the dwelling while they retrieved some belongings.

The fire was very minor limited to the bathroom where we believed there was a short in the ceiling fan, as indicated by the revealed wiring that was fused or melted together. The fire department had torn down the ceiling and insulation to get to it.

We finished up paperwork outside and the clients left to go to the hotel. Then I drove back to drop off the van and drive back home at about 2:30.

The clients were very grateful for all our help, they kept on saying. I was glad to do it without pay, it felt like a very worthy sacrifice of time and effort.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Are you ready?

We've had a lot of quakes lately - have you prepared water, food, emergency supplies for home or work, or your car?