Stoddard County crew back from Ike relief

DEXTER, Mo. -- In early September, the Stoddard County Ambulance District sent two ambulance units and five people to Texas to help with relief efforts following Hurricane Ike. The group returned last week.

Working out of a command center in San Antonio, the workers helped with evacuations before Ike and helped transport people back to the coast after the storm had passed.

"The people of Texas are the most appreciative people I've ever met," said Stoddard County ambulance administrator Dave Cooper. Cooper served as part of a FEMA response team along with Eric Dunn, Steven Cummins, Russell Orr and John Standridge.

The relief efforts concentrated on the areas of Houston, Galveston and Beaumont. The Stoddard County team worked out of Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio and was there 21 days. The team was in Galveston helping with evacuations when Hurricane Ike was approaching the coast.

"We were one of the last 10 ambulances to leave Galveston prior to the arrival of the hurricane," Cooper said. "We were transporting a newborn boy to Austin when we encountered the first band of Ike. It was short and that was all the hurricane we experienced."

Coordinating operations

The Stoddard County team worked primarily at the command post at Kelly Air Force Base in command operations. Cooper was tapped as manager of staging operations, placing him in charge of accounting for all the emergency vehicles and equipment. He and his team worked under the deputy incident commander at the base.

Cooper said a common misconception is that relief efforts following a hurricane are "heroic rescue-type work."

The crew found that a lot of the assignments are "hurry up and wait." He said hours are spent in the ambulance, and the members new to such assignments find it a "big adjustment."

One of the larger jobs is organizing so many people, equipment and vehicles in the relief effort, Cooper said. At one time, there were 300 ambulances, 700 buses and 300 to 400 wheelchair-accessible vehicles available.

As staging manager, Cooper worked with his team to account for all the vehicles and make sure units were ready for assignments. His team was also responsible for the logging and tracking of each vehicle. Its effort was aided by tracking devices placed on every emergency vehicle.

"What people don't understand is that we not only have to get people out of harm's way, but we also have to get them back [home]," Cooper said.

At least five ambulances had to be ready to respond at all times, Cooper said. As relief efforts wore on, the crews became more tired and weary and many were ready to go home. Keeping up morale became an important task.

"The people in charge were highly complimentary of Stoddard County personnel and their work in staging rescue operations," Cooper said of the local team. He said the workers "gave 150" percent every day.

Getting involved

FEMA began changing the way emergency response was handled after Hurricane Katrina, Cooper said. At that time, FEMA contracted the National Ambulance Co. to set up American Medical Response teams throughout the country. The Stoddard County Ambulance District opted into the program and has responded to several emergencies, including the tornado in Caruthersville, Mo., Hurricane Dean and Hurricane Gustav.

Cooper said crew members are selected on a voluntary basis. Disaster response teams are trained for extreme conditions and must be able to be self-sustaining for 72 hours. The team took food and supplies for the sparse living conditions the first few days after its arrival in Texas.

Cooper said participation in the relief efforts has been a financial benefit for the ambulance service, which receives $150 per hour per truck while helping with relief efforts. It is one of the reasons the county ambulance service chose to participate. The money from disaster assistance goes into a special fund that can be used only for "disaster-related" items.

Cooper said the team was appreciative of the response it received while trying to help.

"Every time we stopped at a restaurant, a gas station or anywhere else, the people thanked us and showed their appreciation," Cooper said.