Deploy to other States for Disasters?

[Live2Learn]

In a former life I participated on several 'disaster' events as an individual resource.  The Incident Management Teams really weren't interested in walkins.  Too many unknowns, too many risks (both to the eager volunteer AND to other relief personnel AND to the public) should an untrained eager walkin make a poor decision or place themselves in a situation where THEY needed rescued.

By all means volunteer!  But get trained up and connected with a DR/Rescue organization whose mission aligns with your desires to serve before you jump in and likely siphon away critical resources that attend to your needs rather than to the actual victims.  Be ready for the long haul, with boring meetings and lotsa training to prepare you for the prime time event if, when it shows up.

[zippy]

I can tell you as a Red Cross volunteer that you just don't call them and deploy, there is required training and background checks.

The Red Cross is granting waivers for licensed health care professionals. I was told it is possible for an RN with no links to the Red Cross to go from CA to TX in less than a week.
For details see this link http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/lp/hurricane-harvey-health-professionals

[JoeTomasone]

With a disaster of this magnitude, some of the "normal" rules will need to be bent or broken.   

[arajca]

Well, Colorado Wing has been tasked for support to Texas, We're sending 4 aircrews and planes for at least 4 days. May involve more as the incident progresses.

[Eclipse]

Looks like requests for resources are starting to trickle in all over.

The sheer size of the DA may mandate a lot more resources.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Looks like requests for resources are starting to trickle in all over.

The sheer size of the DA may mandate a lot more resources.

Yep, and so far it's AP crews. Good thing it's on our agenda. Bad thing that we don't have any currently.

[walter1975]

In another life, I was an emergency manager for a state agency, and managed responses to 14 Presidentially declared disasters.  There are two things any emergency manager hates to see show up: (1) unsolicited volunteers and (2) unsolicited donations.  Volunteers first - other replies have addressed the problems about liability, not knowing what the training standards are, etc.  Those are all valid.  What has not been mentioned is that self-dispatched volunteers are resource consumers.  You have to find them a place to sleep, food, often specialized equipment they need to do their job but they did not bring, and someone to guide them in the wilderness your disaster site has become.  I remember reading about a team of four EMT students who responded to the World Trade Center from six states away two days after the event, not certified, no equipment or medical supplies, no turnout gear, no food, and no idea of the geography of New York city.  The coverage in their school's paper highlighted that the New York EMS system had to find them a firehouse to bunk and mess in, issue basic EMS gear, assign a guide, and try to figure out what to do with them.  And everyone at the school thought they were heroes.  They became a textbook example for our training for our 14 state EMS task forces.

And I agree wholeheartedly with the comment about typed resources.  If you tell me you have a Type 3 of a specific resource, and your people are trained and credentialed to national Position Task Book standards, then I know what you have and what I can use it for.  If you tell me something else, then I have to play 20 questions ... 

Donations second - people donate ... single cans of food, some of which may be culturally inappropriate, expired medicines, broken televisions (I assume so that disaster victims can learn television repair while in the shelter), dirty clothing (yes, I think I would rather go commando than wear someone's soiled Y fronts), winter clothing in Florida in the summer, etc.  When your local food drive finishes and happily loads the results on a truck, someone at the receiving end has to sort through all that and try to figure out how to package it in a way that it provides the victims a balanced meal.  Donations in big event consume resources to receive, arrange for warehouse to store, sort, issue, and eventually dispose of donations.  Give two things: money to a reputable disaster response/recovery organization that is working in the area (National VOAD agencies are a good start) so that specific needs can be addressed, or give pallets or tractor trailer loads of a specific requested supply. 

[JoeTomasone]

Then there's the unsolicited volunteers who become victims themselves and require resources to rescue or recover them... Happening in TX already. 

[Brad]

...someone at the receiving end has to sort through all that and try to figure out how to package it in a way that it provides the victims a balanced meal.  Donations in big event consume resources to receive, arrange for warehouse to store, sort, issue, and eventually dispose of donations...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-disaster-relief-brings-anything-but-relief/

[CAP9907]

...someone at the receiving end has to sort through all that and try to figure out how to package it in a way that it provides the victims a balanced meal.  Donations in big event consume resources to receive, arrange for warehouse to store, sort, issue, and eventually dispose of donations...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-disaster-relief-brings-anything-but-relief/

Indeed... we have local FD's "responding" to TX with pickup trucks full of random donated items. And of course they think that they are going to be welcomed as heros and put right to work. They may not realize that unsolicited random volunteer firefighters do not fit into the ICS format and they are now a liability: they need to be housed and fed, etc, drawing on local resources. That is in addition to the random truckloads of citizen-donated items that they have packed up, which may or not be helpful to the relief effort. This is a good example of why we do not self deploy or just 'show up' to help.

Just my opinion, YMMV

[Mitchell 1969]

I have experienced the random "go teams" and volunteers showing up to "help out" without any clear role. Most notably, I had them flying in during an on-airport plane crash, coming from literally 2000 miles away. We didn't want to be unkind, didn't want to burn any bridges. So...the ICS chart was stretched to include a "Host Division."

Arriving counterparts from elsewhere, plus political figures and bigwigs, were shuffled over to Host Division which was staffed by police, fire and airport PR plus an airport bus and driver. They got a basic scene briefing, met the Unified Command ICs, were fed at the Red Cross kitchen, given their ball caps and coffee mugs, then told "We'd be happy to take you to your hotel now and pick you up for your flight home."

Easy peasy, lemon squeezey. We activated Host Division for every major incident following that and I think they still do it, over 25 years since it was invented.


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[BHartman007]

I've been working at the CAP ICP in Houston for Harvey response all week. Off the top of my head we've had aircrews from North Dakota, Colorado, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana..and I feel like I'm leaving someone out.

[CAPLTC]

The Red Cross is granting waivers for licensed health care professionals. I was told it is possible for an RN with no links to the Red Cross to go from CA to TX in less than a week.
For details see this link http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/lp/hurricane-harvey-health-professionals

Are you a nurse?
If so, CAP is probably not the best place for you to volunteer your nursing skills.
CAP is the Civil AIR Patrol ... FEMA and DoD keep us around for the airplanes.
In a week there will be 100+ CAP planes flying missions in FL, GA, TX  and... maybe other states.