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WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ OCTOBER 14, 2015 ❘
Siuslaw News
Coast Life
SECTION B
SENIOR NEWS
CALENDAR
INSIDE — 8B
R e a d y f o r a c t i o n
pcoming cold weather will
result in a new task for local
folks — keeping their homes
warm. Sometimes this results in cre-
ative ways of generating heat.
Unfortunately, this creativity may
yield negative results: A house fire
and a loss of one’s possessions.
When a house fire occurs in
Florence, the local American Red
Cross organization is notified. Red
Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT)
volunteers respond to the fire and
assist affected residents by providing
temporary housing, clothing, food,
medications and mental health refer-
rals.
The Florence Red Cross DAT team
is made up of eight volunteers, five
of whom currently respond to emer-
gency calls, one who handles team
paperwork and two new arrivals who
are awaiting approval to respond to
calls.
DAT members have been trained
in CPR, first aid, disaster assessment,
sheltering and mass feeding.
Several volunteers have been
deployed to national disasters such as
Hurricane Katrina, Super Storm
Sandy, the Oso landslide and fires
across the country.
U
Want to help?
The Florence American Red
Cross is hosting a “meet your
local Red Cross team” event on
Monday, Oct. 26, at noon in the
meeting room at Pacific Pines RV
Park, 4044 Highway 101 (enter on
42nd Street).
Anyone interested in more
information about the Disaster
Action Team (DAT) and its team
members is invited to attend this
come-and-go session.
DAT members will be available
to discuss volunteer opportunities
and
disaster
preparedness.
Materials will be available and
light refreshments will be served.
For more information or to
inquire about joining DAT, con-
tact Tom Zahara at tomograms
@yahoo.com or 541-999-2728 or
Linda Stent at 541-991-3161.
“We’re always looking for people
who are interested in joining our
team,” said Tom Zahara, who heads
up the Florence group.
In addition to responding to house
fires, local Red Cross members work
with Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue
(SVFR) and the Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT)
to provide information on prepared-
ness in case of an earthquake or
tsunami in our area.
The DAT team also is a member of
the Western Lane Emergency
Operations Group (WLEOG) and
works with ARES, the Amateur
Radio Emergency Service organiza-
tion of ham radio operators.
In the event of a large-scale disas-
ter, the Florence Red Cross has
agreements in place with various
facilities, such as churches and
schools, to be used for sheltering if
the need arises.
There are also agreements with
local motels and hotels for temporary
housing needed for victims of disas-
ters such as house fires.
Two Red Cross trailers are located
in the Florence area, one on each side
of the Siuslaw bridge. These trailers
contain supplies such as cots, blan-
kets, water and MREs (Meals Ready
to Eat) that can be put into service in
an emergency.
Citizens, businesses and nonprofit
groups that would like more informa-
tion on being prepared can schedule
a “Prepare!” presentation by contact-
ing DAT teammember Linda Stent at
541-991-3161.
The American Red Cross suggests
that each family have a plan in place
in case of disaster. This involves
being able to let family and friends
know that everyone is safe.
The American Red Cross Safe and
Well website www.safeandwell.
communityos.org is an online
resource for people in disaster areas
in the United States to register their
current status and for their loved
ones to access that information. It
helps provide displaced families with
relief and comfort during a stressful
time and allows concerned friends
and family to search the list of those
who have registered.
Each year, the American Red
Cross immediately responds to about
COURTESY PHOTO
Florence American Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) Linda Stent, Michael Titmus, Pat Beckham,
Candy Zahara, Tom Zahara, Bev Titmus, Ken Stone and Sue Beckham
70,000 natural and man-made disas-
ters in the United States, ranging
from fires to hurricanes, floods,
earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous
materials spills, transportation acci-
dents and explosions.
Red Cross disaster relief focuses
on meeting people’s immediate
emergency needs caused by disaster.
When disaster threatens or strikes,
the Red Cross provides shelter, food
and health and emotional health serv-
ices to address basic human needs
and assist individuals and families in
resuming their normal daily activities
independently.
The Red Cross also feeds emer-
gency workers like firefighters and
police, handles inquiries from con-
cerned family members outside the
disaster area, provides blood and
blood products to disaster victims,
provides access to other available
resources and can offer emergency
assistance for military members cur-
rently serving on active duty.
The relationship between the Red
Cross and the persons who come for
service is confidential.
The Red Cross was chartered by
the U.S. Congress to “carry on a sys-
tem of national and international
relief in time of peace and apply the
same
in
mitigating
the
sufferings caused by pestilence,
famine, fire, floods and other great
national calamities, and to devise and
carry on measures for preventing the
same.”
The Charter is unique to the Red
Cross because it assigns duties and
obligations to the nation, to disaster
survivors and to the people who gen-
erously support its work through
donations.
The American Red Cross is cur-
rently involved in a national Home
Fire Preparedness Campaign, which
aims to reduce injuries and deaths
caused by home fires by installing
free smoke alarms.
The Florence Red Cross plans to
bring this campaign to the area in the
future by installing free smoke
alarms and sharing fire safety infor-
mation with residents.
Eighty percent of Americans don’t
realize that home fires are the single
most common disaster across the
nation.
With average heating costs rising,
the Red Cross warns families to
understand the dangers of home fires
and to take steps now to get prepared.
According to the U.S. Fire
Administration, 20,000 people are
injured in house fires in a typical
year.
The U.S. Fire Administration has
determined that heating fires are the
second leading cause of residential
fires, after cooking fires. Heating
fires are fires that are caused by func-
tioning or malfunctioning central
heating units, fixed or portable local
heating units, fireplaces, chimneys
and water heaters.
The Red Cross advises taking
steps now to ensure safety and pre-
vent loss of life and property.
—Submitted by Linda Stent
How ’bout demArts?
Local artists celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month at demonstration event
S
iuslaw Public Library sponsored the second
annual demArts on Saturday for National Art and
Humanities Month in October. More
than 20 area artists working in fiber, paints, pastels, col-
lage, beads and other media led “create and take”
demonstrations for the more than 150 visitors of all
ages who attended the event. This day-long salute
to the arts and humanities was conducted in
partnership with the BeauxArts Fine Art
Materials, Florence Area Beaders group, the
Florence Miniature Club, Florence Regional Arts
Alliance (FRAA), Friends of the Library, Kenneth
B. Gallery, the Siuslaw Fiber Arts Guild and the
Siuslaw Public Library Art Committee. Event
Coordinator Mary Colgan-Bennetts said that this
year’s demArts went “fantastically” and that some
people stayed to make art for the whole day.
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Florence Red Cross volunteers help disaster victims