Public Safety Insights Newsletter: 4 Ways the Red Cross Can Make Your Job Easier

4 Ways the Red Cross Can Make Your Job Easier
Public Safety Insight:	The Red Cross can help you demonstrate your agency’s value to the community, educate your customers, and provide services to your crews during major incidents.

Are you aware of the variety of ways that the Red Cross can help your agency serve your community and your employees? Based on my experience as a volunteer Disaster Action Team leader for the Los Angeles Region of the American Red Cross, I would be willing to bet that you are missing important benefits that a partnership with that organization can offer. Here are four ways the Red Cross can make your job easier. It can help you to:

1. Demonstrate your agency’s value to the community

   The Red Cross provides immediate assistance (e.g., housing, food, clothing, casework) to people in the community who are displaced by disasters such as fires or floods. By requesting that your local Red Cross office send a Disaster Action Team (DAT) to help those individuals, your agency is providing a valuable service for people who otherwise don’t know where to turn or what to do. Call us!

2. Demonstrate your agency’s value to the community and your employees

   Often when we arrive on scene, the fire department has gone. Thus your crews don’t get to hear the thanks and the positive feedback about their service that our clients express. These comments and stories are compelling commentaries that communicate clearly to your crews and your community the value your agency provides. So if your agency conducts surveys, add your local Red Cross DAT to your distribution list. Get to know someone at your local chapter and ask him/her to pass along the feedback that DAT members hear. Sharing positive feedback is good for employee morale, for clients (who tell us they regret not having the presence of mind to express their gratitude when you were there), and for our volunteers. Call us!

3. Educate your community

   Although people are grateful to have survived a fire or other disaster, it’s not uncommon for some to focus on the negative aspects of their situation. DAT members often hear questions like, “Why did those firefighters put a hole in my roof?” or “Why did they throw my stuff out into the yard?” Because few DAT members can answer those questions, you miss a great opportunity to help your customers understand that your actions resulted in a better outcome for them. You can help educate your community by taking the time to reach out to DAT members and explain the “why” behind some of your actions. This will enable your customers to appreciate what you do, and to re-focus quickly from the negative to the positive. Call us!

4. Support your crews

   About two weeks ago, the call I got at 3:30 a.m. wasn’t about responding to a residential fire; it was about providing canteen services for 150 firefighters who had been dealing for hours with the aftermath of an overturned tanker truck on a major freeway. The Red Cross supports public safety agencies by providing coffee, water, and snacks during lengthy incidents. Call us!

The DATs that work out of our Long Beach, CA Red Cross office cover 44 cities, two ports, and an island. We have opportunities to help each of the fire and rescue agencies in our territory communicate their value and educate their communities. I strongly encourage you to take full advantage of the value a partnership with your local Red Cross chapter can provide.

CALL US!

Post script: After I wrote this newsletter, I responded to a DAT call. The Los Angeles County Fire Department already had left the scene, so the firefighters weren’t there to hear what the homeowner had to say about their service: “The fire department man (incident commander) was beautiful. He made me feel very welcome and good about myself. Now I understand why we pay taxes. I appreciate them. They insisted on calling the Red Cross even when I said no. They asked if my mother and nieces needed help getting their clothes out of the house, and they carried their suitcases for them. They really care about us.” This is the kind of feedback that your crews – and your communities – are missing if you aren’t taking full advantage of your partnership with the Red Cross. I e-mailed these comments to the Operations Chief and asked him to pass them along to the firefighters so they would know how much their service is appreciated.

To find articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.PublicSafetyInsights.net.

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©2015 Pat Lynch | Public Safety Insights