From: "Celia Tamker" <heavenonhorse@att.net>
> It was their disaster training courses which include CPR and First Aid.
The
> local chapter has to deal with coastal evacuations for hurricanes and the
> last one (which was the first official evacuation which was Hurricane
Floyd)
> they discovered areas that they felt a mounted team could help with.
There
> is one highway going to the evacuation center that became a big parking
lot.
> The only safe access up and down the road was by ATV or horseback. Since
> there was not ATV volunteers, the chapter asked us to consider it and we
> have now set up a plan to be able to monitor the road during another
> evacuation in case someone in in need. There were people who forgot to
pack
> medicene or became dehydrated so we will be carrying a supply of bottled
> water and have a couple of horsebackriding nurses on standby in case they
> are needed.
Since I'm also a Red Cross volunteer who does disaster response and I'm now
chartered with heading up a team of people who will provide disaster
education to the community, I particularly appreciate examples of how the
courses might be applied. I like that your local need was addressed with a
rather innovative solution!
To make yourselves better prepared in a disaster situation you might want to
investigate some additional training. There is a solid logic behind
wilderness SAR personnel (more survival and medical skills than normal SAR)
having cross-training in Urban SAR (US&R) ... which is more disaster
response than traditional SAR, and focuses more on the rescue and initial
medical care. The "light" version of US&R is the Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) training ... which may/may not be available yet in your
region. If not, perhaps your local Red Cross connection can help spearhead
an effort to start a local CERT program.