If 2021 hadn鈥檛 so clearly been the 鈥淵ear of the Vaccine,鈥� it may have been known as the 鈥淵ear of the Natural Disaster,鈥� following a number of responses to weather-related events over the last 12 months.
From hurricanes that battered COVID-ravaged hospitals on the Southern coast, to , to , it seems that no area of the country was safe from Mother Nature this year.
And yet, in the midst of these unprecedented disasters, industry professionals continued to serve their communities, even as their own homes and families faced danger, putting the needs of residents above their own.
SA国际传媒 spoke with Marc Creswell, director of operations for Acadian Ambulance鈥檚 Air Med, headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, about the response to Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 hurricane that became the second most damaging and intense hurricane in the state鈥檚 history, behind Hurricane Katrina.
We also spoke with Eric Heard, a fire inspector with the Portland (Oregon) Fire Rescue, who detailed the department鈥檚 preparation and response to the record-breaking heatwave that settled over the Pacific Northwest in June 2021.
Lessons learned: Preparation is key
In Creswell鈥檚 mind, this year鈥檚 hurricane response was the most prepared Acadian Ambulance鈥檚 operations team has been, particularly following a busy 2020 season that included four hurricanes and a tropical storm. In fact, Creswell points to the 2020 hurricane season as the reason for 2021鈥檚 success.
鈥淲e got into this groove where the right hand knew what the left hand was thinking,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had the same key people in place for several years doing the same job, so that was really good.鈥�
In Portland, Heard echoed Creswell鈥檚 perspective that preplanning was an important part of a successful response, as well as by building off the lessons learned in previous years.
鈥淚 know we had a lot of people pass away because of the heat,鈥� Heard said of the 2020 heatwave. 鈥淲e were preparing to not have a repeat of that situation. When [June鈥檚 heatwave] came along, we were pretty much organized already, just because of what we had experienced the year before with the record heatwave.鈥�
Lessons learned in Louisiana: Resource allocation and logistics
When Mother Nature unleashes, there is no consideration taken for the homes, families and livelihoods of those responding to the disaster.
鈥淔irst responders in New York, in Portland, wherever they鈥檙e at, when there鈥檚 a major disaster, their homes get affected, too,鈥� Creswell said. 鈥淎nd we expect them to come to work. Most of the time, these natural disasters take out the food service industry, it takes out their homes, so they don鈥檛 have a place to eat. They don鈥檛 have places to sleep. They don鈥檛 have places to wash their clothes. They don鈥檛 have electricity. They don鈥檛 have showers.鈥�
In 2016, Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Southern coast, causing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 100 people. It was that storm that prompted a new way of thinking at Acadian Ambulance.
鈥淲e had the major hurricane down in Texas, and we recognized that our infrastructure to support our staff was severely lacking,鈥� Creswell said. 鈥淲e bolstered that up for Hurricane Laura that affected the southwest portion of Louisiana in 2020, but we really bolstered up before Hurricane Ida.鈥�
In essence, Creswell described the upscaling of an entire mobile operation that included 鈥渟hower facilities, washing machines, dryers, cooking facilities鈥� and more to assist providers working the recovery efforts.
Then, in what Creswell called a 鈥済enius decision,鈥� agency officials decided to split the assets into two forward operating bases, set up in Houma and New Orleans, the two hardest-hit areas.
鈥淥ur initial thought process was if we set up one center, then we鈥檝e got one place to pump food to, one place to pump fuel to, one place to pump people to,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut New Orleans and Houma were both affected equally. In the central location, people would鈥檝e had to drive between 30 and 50 miles to reach the FOB. Putting them dead in the middle of the highest density of employees affected means they didn鈥檛 have to go so far.鈥�
Lessons learned in Oregon: Resident communication, after-action surveys
In Portland, as the mercury began rising, eventually reaching 116 degrees F 鈥� the highest temperature ever recorded in the city 鈥� cooling facilities were strategically erected around the city for vulnerable populations.
鈥淲e had cooling shelters running 24 hours a day, mainly based at the homeless population to give them some relief and overnight care,鈥� Heard said. 鈥淲e also had misting stations available in city parks; we basically modified popup tents with garden sprayers and connected them to the already-existing water spigots.鈥�
As Heard worked to assist members of the community, he was able to see the impact of the lifesaving measures up close.
鈥淚 worked the last day of the cooling shelters and as we were breaking it down the next morning, you could see the concern on the faces of people who had been relying on it,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou could actually gauge their feelings toward it, like, 鈥極h no, this is going away.鈥欌��
Even though the heatwave was supposed to break later in the day, Heard understood that many residents didn鈥檛 have reliable access to news and weather reports, causing concern among those at the shelters they would be left unprotected. He said the department plans on being proactive in the coming months on providing important emergency notifications to community members using PSAs and other communications.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to step it up this year with more stuff on cooling and heat emergencies,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel like with the information we鈥檝e been gathering of the past two years, it鈥檚 just going to improve the way we respond and how we prepare our citizens to be aware, so they can fend for themselves in these situations.鈥�
That鈥檚 what Portland does, he said.
鈥淲e are a city that is always trying to prep for the next emergency so we can be prepared because you never know what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� he said.
Lessons learned: Embrace the suck
In the end, first responders can only prepare so much for a natural disaster. Creswell summed up the ideal mindset going into an emergency response: 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be bad, but we have got the practice, we鈥檝e got the plan, we鈥檝e got the infrastructure and we鈥檝e got the intestinal fortitude to get it done.鈥� he said.
That鈥檚 an important point, he said.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what carried us through all of this. Every single time, it鈥檚 going to suck, but we make the best out of it.鈥�
