American Red Cross of the National Capital Area: Disaster Information Guides

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A Firsthand Look at Mother Nature's Wrath
GREENSBURG, Kan. - Unbelieveable. It's the one word Chris Darlington, a National Capital Area Readiness and Response Coordinator, used to describe the destruction he witnessed in the town of Greensburg, Kansas.

  Before the night of May 4, Greensburg was a tiny midwestern farm town. On May 5, after one of the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded ripped through, 90 percent of the town was gone.
  Darlington was deployed to Kansas on Wednesday, May 16, as a part of the Red Cross' National Disaster Response. He'll be working in logistics under the National Fleet Operation for the next two weeks.
  The Red Cross has been on the scene since the morning of May 5 setting up shelters and distributing thousands of meals. Darlington was able to tour the town and take some extremely numbing pictures.
*Click Here to View More Images of Greensburg

Above left, a Disaster Action Team leader responds to a fire in Burke, Va., in early December. At right, staff and volunteers huddle near the Capital before the state funeral ceremonies for President Ford.

National Capital Area Chapter: On the Scene ...

Fire destroyed a home in Falls Church VA early this morning. Clients were assisted with food, clothing, and shelter following the incident.

05/18/07 - Fire in Falls Church, Va.
The North Fairfax Disaster Action Team responded to a fire that destroyed a home and displaced its residents. Clients were assisted with food, clothing and shelter following the incident.

05/13/07 - Three Fires in Washington, DC
The DC Office Disaster Action Team responded to three fires on Sunday, May 13th. Two of the incidents occurred in Southeast and the other in Northeast. In all, the Chapter responders assisted seven families totalling 23 clients. Assistance consisted of temporary hotel stays and financial assistance for food and clothing.

05/13/07 - Fire in Alexandria, Va.
The South Fairfax Disaster Action Team responded to a fire that displaced two families. The Red Cross provided temporary housing assistance and emergency financial assistance to purchase clothing & food.

05/08/07 - Motel Fire in Alexandria, Va.
Both the South and North Fairfax Disaster Action Teams responded. Team members on the scene were Lead Sing Lee and DAT members John Wallin, Raf Cardamone, Jack Ledgerwood and Dirce Peri. The fire displaced the occupants and six of the residents sought Red Cross assistance. The residents were provided with temporary hotel stays at another nearby hotel and financial assistance to purchase food.

(Our Disaster Action Team members respond to a local disaster every 11 hours. Last year, the Chapter responded to 518 local disasters.)

We're ready when you need us...

Each year the American Red Cross responds immediately to more than 60,000 disasters. Disasters include hurricanes, floods, blizzards, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosives, and other man-made disasters.

		Every day, Red Cross chapters work with their community partners to help the public anticipate, survive, prevent and recover from disasters. The Red Cross provides practical and helpful awareness and educational information that shows the public how to save lives, reduce injuries and protect their homes from disaster.
		Red Cross relief focuses on meeting people's immediate emergency disaster-caused needs.
		When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross provides shelter, food and clothing to address basic human needs.

All Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people.

In order to help people prevent and prepare for disasters and emergencies, the National Capital Chapter of the American Red Cross provides FREE Community Disaster Education (CDE) presentations to schools and organizations throughout the Greater Washington Region. Topics include winter safety, hurricane and tornado safety, as well as thunderstorm and fire safety.

Call George Pack, 202-303-4517 to find out more information about Red Cross CDE presentations and/or how to become a CDE volunteer presenter.

Most of the Red Cross Disaster Service Training classes listed here are offered free to the Public.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer in the International Services, please visit our how to volunteer page to start the process of becoming a volunteer with our chapter.

Please select the classes for which you would like to see available schedules by marking the empty box beside the class and clicking on the Search button at the bottom of the following list:

	Shelter Operations
	This basic disaster course prepares workers and other agencies' staff to effectively and sensitively manage shelter operations as a team, to meet the needs of people displaced as a result of a disaster. Prerequisite: Fulfilling Our Mission: Translating Your Compassion into Community Action and Community Services Overview are required for DAT members.

	Shelter Simulation
	This basic disaster course is a tabletop exercise in which participants work in teams to open, operate, and close a typical shelter. Provides an opportunity to practice the knowledge and skills learned in Shelter Operations prior to attending the simulated exercise. Prerequisite: Shelter Operations and is required for DAT members.

	Community Services Overview
	To provide an overview of the activities performed by the Mass Care group in support of a disaster relief operation and to develop a plan of action for involvement in Community Services activities at the local Red Cross chapter. This course is required for DAT members.

	Weapons of Mass Destruction / Terrorism: An Overview
	This half day course provides basic information about the Red Cross involvement in weapons of mass destruction and terrorism incidents, and the direct correlation to ARC's existing preparedness and response planning. Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism: Overview is course #: ARC 3079-2. Prerequisites: Fulfilling Our Mission: Translating Compassion into Action

	Public Affairs in Disaster 1
	This a basic instructor-led course designed to train Red Cross staff to perform the critical tasks that are necessary to ensure that vital relief and recovery information is shared in a timely and accurate manner with both external and internal audiences. Prerequisites: Fulfilling Our Mission: Translating Your Compassion into Community Action.

	Collaborating to Ensure Effective Service Delivery
	The purpose of this course is to prepare Red Cross employees and volunteers to establish collaborative relationships that contribute to coordinated disaster response and help to ensure effective service delivery. This course will also prepare participants to begin conducting liaison activities in a chapter and establish a foundation upon which they build toward a career as a liaison in the DSHR System. This course is aimed at volunteers and employees who will represent the organization to our government and emergency management partners. Must submit Application for Disaster Training (Form 5898H) for supervisor approval. Prerequisite: Fulfilling Our Mission: Translating Your Compassion into Community Action

	DAT Volunteer Orientation
	This orientation introduces multi-function disaster volunteers to the workings of the Disaster Action Team (DAT). Volunteers who stand DAT duty, respond to disaster calls in their jurisdiction, which regularly include single family fires. The orientation includes a review of on-call time requirements, scheduling procedure, activation process, team responsibilities, and Code of Conduct. Prerequisites: Introduction to Disaster; Mass Care Overview; Damage Assessment; Emergency Assistance to Families. Recommended additional courses: Shelter Operations; Shelter Simulations.

	Client Casework: Providing Emergency Assistance
	To enable Red Cross paid and volunteer staff and representatives of other community agencies to meet the emergency needs of families on an individual basis following a disaster. The course is designed to help the participants develop the interviewing skills, knowledge, attitudes, and relationships necessary to meet the disaster-caused needs of individuals and families. This course is required for DAT members.

	Psychological First Aid
	This course provides a framework for understanding the factors that affect stress responses in disaster relief workers and the clients they serve. In addition, it provides practical suggestions about what you can say and do as you practice the principles of Psychological First Aid. The course consists of five separate segments and a self-review questionnaire which is completed after the training.

	Fulfilling Our Mission: Translating Compassion into Action
	Introduces potential volunteers and members of other local agencies to the role of the Red Cross in the community's actions in preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies and disasters. The course will enable individual volunteers to translate their care and compassion for their community into action and provide information to other community agencies on Red Cross work and possible partnership in preparation for and response to a disaster. This course is one of the prerequisite courses.

	Fundamentals of Disaster Assessment
	This is a new release that replaces Disaster Assessment Workshop. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the critical role of Disaster Assessment, explore related preparedness tasks, and learn how to collect and communicate disaster assessment information, and become familiar with how disaster assessment information supports management and service delivery decisions. This is a blended learning course consisting of two components, online and instructor-led. The online portion must be completed before coming to the class. Successful completion of both components is required to receive a certificate. Please contact the Training Coordinator at 240-485-3048 to access the online course.