Doug Bryson came all the way from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to volunteer in Slave Lake on two separate occasions.
When Red Cross was alerted that help was needed with the northern Alberta wildfires, it responded by first calling in local teams. As the magnitude of the disaster became apparent, Red Cross quickly pulled in people from its vast resource of volunteers across Canada.
Thanks to skilled volunteers, Red Cross was able to mobilize necessary resources and respond to the largest disaster in Alberta’s history. More than 360 Red Cross workers, both staff and volunteers, from across Canada have given their time and talent. The value of volunteer time invested in this response is equivalent to more than $1.6 million in salaries with 46,000 hours given by volunteers.
Because the volunteer workforce is highly trained to the same standards across Canada, the Red Cross can respond to all disasters, regardless of size, and is able to expand for all situations.
The main role of the Red Cross in any disaster is to see that the most vulnerable people have their basic needs met first. To do this, a needs assessment team determines requirements for food, shelter and clothing, once all medical needs or potential immediate threats are handled. This assistance can last from several hours to many months.
In addition to responding to a disaster of this magnitude, the Red Cross continued to deliver all of its other programs, maintain services across the province and respond to other disasters.
Read more about the Red Cross response in northern Alberta this past year or learn about opportunities to volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross.