Providing aid/assistance when chasing & spotting

[D. Hayes]

I been thinking pretty heavy about giving aid and assistance when out chasing. I was wondering what everyones thoughts are on this. Do you drop everything and head into the damaged areas and help out or do you maintain track with the storm?

If you do plan to assist what items do you pack with you?

 

[John Diel]

A lot will depend on what you are qualified to do. If you are a first responder, emt, fire department, etc. the general inclination is to stop and help.

However, many people, in their good samaritan role, are not prepared for what they are going to see and many times become part of the problem rather than the solution.

My rule of thumb for this is, if emergency services are already on the scene and appear to have things in hand, I continue on and report. If I am first on a scene, I will stop and render what aid I can. If it's a large scene, then I start looking at the bigger picture and try to get a triage and incident command going until relieved by the local authorties. I am qualified to do this though. Many average Storm Chasers are not equipped beyond basic first aid and most have not witnessed the destruction a large tornado can cause.

It really falls to this. You do what you are able to do. You have to live with yourself and your decision. There are no concrete answers to be given.

Example: If I'm somewhere up in Kansas and a tornado hits a town (ala Greensburg), I will stop and help where I can using my skills where I can. If I'm closer to home serving in a Spotter role, I will follow the guidelines given by my controller. If he says stop and start working an IC post, then that's what I do, if he says continue to track the storm and report, then that's what I do.

That's my philosophy though. You will find several others that will continue on the storm, etc. Different folks will have different reactions.

As far as "packing" goes, I carry nothing beyond basic first aid. After all, I'm not there to treat people beyond that level. I'm there to organize the response. Ambulances are far better equipped to handle such things and are generally there within a few minutes, so really, beyond life saving measures, I pretty much stay out of it.

 

[Paul Knightley]

Thankfully, I've not been in this situation yet, but I'm sure it will happen sooner or later. I think I would try to help folks if I was first on scene, as I think I would not be able to drive past a scene of destruction if I didn't think anyone was helping at that stage. However, as soon as the proffesionals arrived I would get out of the way and let them do their job.

 

[Shane Adams]

I never drop anything and head to damaged areas. I'm not trained in emergency situations and therefore, IMO, it would be irresponsible to go out of my way to seek out damaged areas, and in doing so, be another obstacle for the trained professionals that are trying to render aid. This is exactly why, on May 3, 1999, we purposely broke off the F5 tornado near Amber and went back west to Storm B. We were south of the tornado as it formed, and watched as it moved away to our east over open country. However once it became obvious it was a long-track tornado and would be affecting populated areas before long, we broke off because we knew what kind of destruction it would leave in its wake.

Now before you light the fire underneath me, if I'm first on the scene to a devastated area, I always stop. Fortunately I've only been in that situation once.

But as far as being away from a tornado that's causing damage (a few miles or more), no, I don't actively seek out damage, because 99% of the time any tornado that's causing damage is in a populated area and emergency personnel are almost always going to beat you to the scene.

The one time I witnessed a house being destroyed up close was a rural residence, and even then, before we could get back to where the house had been, emergency crews were already there (under ten minutes from the time of the tornado strike). And when we pulled up and asked what we could do to help, an emergency crew member yelled "you can get the hell outta the way."

 

[John Diel]

Shane,

I don't think anyone is going to flame you for that philosophy. I know I've been on dozens of accident scenes and larger scale incidents where I wished people would get out of the way. I know for a fact, a couple of years ago we had a small tornado out there, tore up a couple of house and the rubber neckers and gawkers came out of the wood work! There were so many that it did hamper Emergency Traffic trying to get into the area.

Fortunately, within about 30 minutes, Sheriff's deputies and OHP showed up and got the traffic under control, however, for the first 20 minutes or so, I was stuck trying to turn traffic around on a busy highway and several went right on around me like I wasn't there. There was a 4 mile back up and ALL of them were people trying to get out and see the damage. No other reason to be there.

This doesn't include Chasers though. I think I saw one or two chasers out on this and they were simply trying to get through to follow the storm. Emergency Management was on the site immediately with a command post set up within 5 minutes. Ambulances and FD followed within a few minutes. I was on scene within 3 minutes of the call out. However, once it was out over the air, here came the gawkers. Some well meaning, but most just getting out to gawk.

So Shane, I won't bash you for that attitude. It's well and proper and I also believe we've discussed this before to some length.

At least it's not about lights!

 

[D. Hayes]

Yea I don't plan to search out the destruction but if it falls in my lap I figure I'd have to deal with it. I've had considerably more training that most being active duty USAF. I won't be the one getting in the way if EMS is on the scene. But if a entire town is hit I can see EMS getting overwhelmed and needing assistance. I plan to talk to the guys at the local fire department about EMT training & I'm sure the red cross offers training over the basic bandaid.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

I have put a lot of thought into this, and much like many others, thankfully I have never come across such devastation that required me to make an on the spot decision. I have always told myself, that if I see a residence in a rural area get wiped out, there is no doubt I will stop and provide assistance, as it may take responders a while to reach the rural area, my old man is on the Vol. Fire dept. in a small town, I know how long it can take them to get to the station put on gear and arrive to a rural location, especially during inclement weather. When there are multiple residence that have been damaged or a tornado has tracked through a town/city I think I would continue to track the storm after reporting the damage, unless someone flags me down or is in obvious need of immediate assistance. If there is that much destruction there is little I can do to help, and undoubtedly rescue crews will be on the scene before I would be able to accomplish much; and if there is a storm causing that significant of damage someone needs to stick on it to help report conditions to prevent injuries at other locations in the storms path, as well as to provide documentation of the event, for example I'm sure it means a lot to at least some of the residents of Greensburg that they are able to see the development and evolution of the storm that impacted them, often storms become a part of an areas history, and often chasers are the only ones there to fully document the event.

 

[Jon Person]

It's always good to help, but it's more helpful to wait. After a disaster, crews need to sweep the town for hazards: injuries, leaking gas, exposed sewage, tainted water supplies, exposed power lines, unstable structures... all kinds of things which can hurt a well-meaning individual. I agree that being there immediately after a disaster is best suited for emergency responders. It's a good idea to get CPR/1st Aid training so at least you can make an intelligent decision if you happen to be there when someone really needs you.

About 1-2 weeks later, volunteer efforts should start to organize. Churches are always quick responders, and the Salvation Army will probably get involved by sending trucks and supplies to hardest-hit areas. It's possible AmeriCorps might be setting up camp before next week; now is a great time to start researching groups who are already organizing to go out and help.

So then... where is the hardest hit area I wonder? About the time of the Chaser Convention it should be okay to get involved regardless of your specific skills.