Posted 6:31 PM 5/19/2012 : Red Cross volunteers prep for emergency situations
TUCSON- With wildfire season in full swing and the monsoon just around the corner, the Red Cross of Southern Arizona is preparing for all emergency situations. This weekend about 80 volunteers are participating in the 5th Annual Shelter Rodeo Readiness Exercise.
Volunteers like Elizabeth McMahon re-enacted several disaster scenes, so they know what to do when a real emergency happens. "You have a vision of what it would look like, but this isn't exactly how I envisioned it," McMahon says.
She got to play the role of a young child, caught up in the aftermath of a major monsoon. "It really helps you to understand exactly what's going to happen, where you bring the person, who you ask questions to, the person in command," McMahon says.
The volunteers also practiced setting up a nurse's station, a radio control center and putting together a plan of attack.
Employees from the Humane Society were also on hand to practice what to do with pets left behind.
It's not just volunteers who need to be prepared. Community members should have a first aid kit on hand, an emergency plan made and they need to stay informed.
The Rodeo Shelter continues all day Sunday.