GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY SIGNS RED CROSS GUITAR

Thomas Turner and Aaron Behrens of Ghostland Observatory Sign Red Cross benefit guitar.  Swoon!

Thank you, Ghostland Observatory!

WESTHEIMER REGENCY APARTMENTS FIRE

From Volunteer Tom Davis

The fire today was a real catastrophe - the entire middle building of the complex was lost. The left half of the building (viewed from the street) was a total loss; we were told the people wouldn't even be able to get into their apartments to retrieve their belongings. The right half wasn't badly damaged, but the decision was made that it was also uninhabitable; those people will at least be able to go in and retrieve their things, though.

The Fire Department estimated that about 300 people were displaced. Of those, about 100 registered at the reunion center we set up in the cafeteria of Reagan High School, a couple of blocks east of the apartment complex.  Two city buses took people from the apartments to Reagan, and then to the shelter that was set up at Gus Garcia Recreation Center on East Rundberg.

Nearly all the people displaced were Hispanic, and only about half of them spoke English. We had a few Spanish interpreters, but not near what we needed."

City Manager Marc Ott is pictured below with shelter volunteers.

To become a bilingual American Red Cross of Central Texas volunteer, contact Volunteer Services at (512) 929-1225 or volunteerservices@centex.redcross.org.

 

CHANGES TO AMERICAN RED CROSS POLICY ON TORNADO SAFETY

The American Red cross, along with the Advisory Council for First Aid, Aquatics, Safety and Preparedness (ACFASP), an independent panel of health and safety experts that advise the Red Cross, has updated the recommendation on tornado safety as follows:

If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter in a basement, tornado shelter or sturdy building. If you cannot get to shelter, a recent study* suggests doing the following:

• Get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt, and try to drive at right angles to the storm movement and out of the path of the tornado.
  
• If strong winds and flying debris occur while you are driving, pull over and park, keeping seat belts on and the engine running. Crouch down below the windows, covering your head with your hands and a blanket if possible.
  

If you are unable to get to a building or vehicle, as a last resort, lie in a ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands.

* Schmidlin T., et al, 2002: Unsafe at any (wind) speed? American Meteorological Society, 1821-30.

This change is consistent with the findings of numerous scientific inquiries and is reflected in the new tornado preparedness check list.

2009 BASTROP GOLF TOURNAMENT

Though the weekend started off with severe rain, thunder and lightning, the day turned into perfect golf weather. Big thanks to all the volunteers, players and sponsors who came out to benefit the American Red Cross of Central Texas!
Check out all the photos here

 

DALE WATSON SIGNS RED CROSS GUITAR FOR UPCOMING FUNDRAISER

From intern Sean Drobeck

I had an awesome time last night at the Broken Spoke getting Dale Watson's autograph on the guitar....Everyone there was super nice and as soon as I told them my mission they let me right in, and pointed me to Dale's wife who waited a song and then interrupted him and got him to sign the guitar during his set. He wasn't satisfied with this though and decided to tune it on the spot and play a song for everybody on it!

RIVERSIDE APARTMENT FIRE

News 8 Story

 
From Volunteer Tom Davis

The fire itself was in Building 4 of the 4-building Riverside Square complex (Blg. 4 has 10 units/floor and 3 floors). The fire started in, and spread through, the west 3/4 of the 3rd floor. Good news/bad news: the building's structure was sound (except for the totaled units on the 3rd floor), but there was water damage everywhere on the 1st and 2nd floors. They had to turn off power to the whole complex and call in an electrician to separate the power for Blg. 4 from the others before they could turn power back on for blgs. 1-3 and let their residents back in.

Building 4 was declared uninhabitable until it can be repaired or rebuilt.  Austin Fire Chief Kusey assigned an AFD team to talk to Blg. 4's residents, find out what they needed out of their apartments immediately, and go retrieve that. He said everyone would be able to go in and retrieve other belongings later today or tomorrow.

The ARCCT team set up in the office of Riverside Place. There were 11 empty units in Riverside Place, and the management put the people who had pets into them; Carol [Volunteer] said she'd open a shelter for the rest of the Blg. 4 residents who didn't have a place to go.

There were no injuries - to people or pets; only one pet (a dog) didn't make it out with her owner, and a fire fighter went in and got her out from under the bed where she was hiding. 

 

 

 

Tom Davis

KEYE-TV TELETHON KICKS OFF MARCH IS RED CROSS MONTH

Thanks to our friends at IBM and BAE Systems for volunteering! And thanks to everyone that called in!