By Tim Querengesser
They are good at putting out fires, but Ottawa firefighters can use the extra help they’ll be getting from the Partnership for Personal Disaster Assistance after the flames are doused.
Organizers of the partnership say fire crews have little resources to help victims after a fire is out. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross decided combining efforts was the best way to help the crews, struggling with the dual role.
“They realized it was not something they could take on,” says Louise Besner, community services co-ordinator at the Red Cross. “They’re there to fight the fire.”
Paul Casagrande, executive chief of operations at the Ottawa fire department agrees. He says before the partnership, fire crews would scramble to find shelter for victims. The crews started carrying winter clothing in the trucks, but still concentrated on fighting the fire.
“We didn’t leave people out on the corner,” he says, adding that despite efforts to help victims after the fire, it wasn’t always their top priority.
Besner says the Red Cross and the Salvation Army have helped in the past, but efforts were often disorganized and wasteful. The partnership solves the problem, and allows the groups to share resources to improve the level of service.
“It helps maximize expertise. When you’ve seen fires, you’ve always seen the community helping out. But there wasn’t a co-ordinated effort,” she says.
Jim Ferguson, co-ordinator for the Salvation Army for Canada and Bermuda, says there are comparable programs in the United States, but this is a first for Canada.
“This is something we’ve developed ourselves,” says Ferguson of the program which will cover Ottawa, Rockliffe and Vanier. He adds a key developer in the project has been Ottawa Fire Chief Gary Richardson. Both he and Besner say they hope other communities in Canada will follow this lead, since the services add no cost to the city of Ottawa.
The Salvation Army will use its expertise collecting clothing and furniture, and the Red Cross will use its experience in registration and inquiry services for victims, she says.
Both agencies will help victims find shelter at the YMCA, or one of several hotels interested in the project. Additionally, the Red Cross will give out “comfort kits” with blankets, toiletries, and a calling card to help victims get in touch with their families.
Ferguson says the recent fire in Sandy Hill, which “burned-out 36 young ladies” from their apartments, illustrates how the partnership will work.
“I got a van and took several of them down to one of our thrift stores to get some outfits,” says Ferguson. He says the Red Cross got names and addresses from the victims.
Casagrande says the fire dispatch has agreements with the organizations to inform them of fires and the types of services that might be required for any victims.
Besner says the ultimate benefactors of the partnership are victims.
“We think of them as clients,” she says, adding the partnership will allow them to worry about things like finding family and insurance questions, while “there’s someone there looking after their immediate needs.”