Author Archives: Cari Dighton

“I had nothing the next day.” – Advice from a home fire survivor

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By Alex Keilty

Photo courtesy of Minh Tran

“I ran out of my house with slippers – that’s everything,” says Minh Tran. “I had nothing the next day.” 

On a night in November 2019, a fire spread from Minh’s fireplace to engulf his home in Gilroy. While his family made it out alive, the house was totally destroyed.

Minh knows how close he came to losing his family and credits the house’s smoke alarms for saving their lives. “Without the alarm we might be dead,” he says.

Now as an American Red Cross Community Volunteer Leader, Minh is determined to raise awareness of the need to be prepared for home fires and other disasters.

“In this area we have earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, home fires, power outages,” Minh says. “From my experience of the fire, I know the need to be better prepared.”

Minh’s advice? Install working smoke alarms, make sure to have adequate home insurance, and keep a disaster kit ready to go.

“Everybody should have a disaster kit in the home – water and food for three days – so when disaster hits they can grab that bag and run,” says Minh.

Joining the Red Cross last year, he has been acting as a liaison with the Vietnamese community. Minh came to San José from Vietnam 28 years ago to reunite with his family and live in this area since. 

This year, he helped recruit volunteers from his community for Sound the Alarm, a program of the Red Cross to provide home fire safety education and install free smoke alarms in local homes.

“Volunteering is fun and fulfilling,” he says. And he recommends more people from the Vietnamese community join him in furthering the Red Cross mission.

To find out more about volunteering for the Red Cross, please visit redcross.org.  

Full Circle: Red Cross Home Fire Campaign

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Red Cross volunteers Don Powell (left) and Ron Redmond (right) install smoke alarms in Burnie Gipson’s home in Martinez, Calif. on August 2, 2022.
Photo by Marcie Wright-Powell/American Red Cross

On August 2, 2022, American Red Cross volunteers Ron Redmond and Don Powell visited the home of Martinez, California resident, Burnie Gipson, to install smoke alarms.

Burnie, who is deaf, recently moved to the area after suffering a home fire at his previous residence in San Francisco. Following the fire, which damaged multiple homes in Burnie’s residential complex, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers responded to provide comfort, care and financial assistance to help impacted residents meet their immediate needs.

With an average of 60,000 disaster responses a year, the majority of these home fires, the Red Cross and our partners are every bit as focused on disaster prevention as we are on disaster response.

Red Cross volunteers Don Powell (left) and Ron Redmond (right) install smoke alarms in Burnie Gipson’s home in Martinez, Calif. on August 2, 2022.
Photo by Marcie Wright-Powell/American Red Cross

Enter the Home Fire Campaign: a year-round effort aimed at home fire prevention through free smoke alarm installations and preparedness education. To date, the campaign’s efforts have saved at least 1,366 lives since 2014. 

One component of the Home Fire Campaign is the ability for the Red Cross to provide specialized smoke alarms to alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the event of a fire. After moving to Martinez, Burnie reached back out to the Red Cross to set up a free installation in his new home. 

People who are deaf or hard of hearing are particularly vulnerable to home fires because they may not be able to hear a traditional smoke alarm. The specialized alarm, frequently referred to as a ‘Bed Shaker,’ is typically installed next to the bed, and alerts residents using a strobe light and vibrating pad that can be placed under the mattress or pillow. It is activated when an accompanying traditional smoke alarm is triggered during a fire.

Red Cross volunteers Don Powell (left) and Ron Redmond (right) install smoke alarms in Burnie Gipson’s home in Martinez, Calif. on August 2, 2022.
Photo by Marcie Wright-Powell/American Red Cross

“Every day, people’s lives are devastated by home fires,” said Natalie Manier, Red Cross Disaster Program Manager for Contra Costa County. “We are proud to play an important role in the prevention of home fire-related injuries in our communities, while at the same time, we’re also able to play an important role in the response process when a fire unfortunately does occur. Our volunteers ensure our services are available full circle if they are needed, and that we’re here for our community members – ensuring they do not have to face life’s emergencies alone.”

Burnie’s home now has an added element of protection thanks to his preparedness mindset and the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign.

All Red Cross services, including smoke alarm installations, are free of charge thanks to our generous partners. During short home visits, Red Cross volunteers and partners install free smoke alarms, and share information on common home fire causes, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts, and how to create an escape plan. If you or someone you know needs smoke alarms in their home, visit SoundTheAlarm.org/NorCalCoastal to schedule an installation appointment.

Meet April Thacker: Making a Difference, One Family at a Time

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By Cari Dighton

April Thacker, 2022 Heart of the Valley Chapter winner of the Clara Barton Award for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership

When glancing through the list of April Thacker’s many American Red Cross volunteer roles, it’s easy to see why her peers describe her as “the Red Cross mission in action.”

“I love working with people and the community,” she says. “I’m motived by knowing I’m making a difference in someone’s life, one family at a time. I love to share our mission and what all the Red Cross has to offer.”

A Merced County resident, April has been a Red Crosser for two decades; she volunteers alongside her mother, Molly, to lead the local Disaster Action Team (DAT). She also guided the Merced County DAT through an organization realignment in 2019, and helped her team learn the ins and outs of RC Care during the implementation of this new disaster response program software.

Through it all, she says her favorite part of the work is being there for families affected by disasters – providing care and comfort in their time of need.

April’s dedication and compassion for those impacted by disasters has also translated to her work as a preparedness educator, where she meets with local communities and county partners to create disaster preparedness plans.

“Through the years I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing people who have now become part of my everyday life,” April says of the friendships that she has made with local families and community partners along the way. “I cherish them.”

Because she brings so much to the table, so often, she was recognized in June 2022 with the Red Cross Heart of the Valley Chapter’s top honor, the Clara Barton Award for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership. Named after the founder of the Red Cross, this special award recognizes a volunteer for their years of service in various leadership positions.

“I was pretty speechless when I heard I got the Clara Barton Award,” she recalls. “It’s such a prestigious award in the Red Cross world. It’s such an honor to be chosen for it.”

But, in typical volunteer fashion, April says she couldn’t do what she does without her Heart of the Valley team members. “It takes a village to do all we do and I’m so thankful for each and every one of them.”

To anyone interested in becoming a part of this team and carrying out the same type of fulfilling work that April does, she urges them to do it. To learn more. To “find what tugs at your heart and go for it.”

“There are so many different opportunities and areas to help within the Red Cross,” she said. “It is so rewarding in so many ways.”

It is the work of volunteers like April that bring the Red Cross mission to life every minute of every day.

“I strive to make a positive impact in the world every day. Whether it’s just a smile, hug or just a listening ear.”   

Disaster Response: From Behind the Scenes to the Front Lines

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By Alex Keilty

Cameron with an Emergency Response Vehicle in New York City in 2019, which is used to deliver food and water to the site of a disaster.

When Cameron Bochman was completing his accounting degree in North Carolina, did he ever imagine his work would take him to a meeting with FBI agents who were investigating a helicopter crash in New York City? No he didn’t, because his career path has been anything but predictable.  

Cameron, an American Red Cross employee, studied accounting because he had a natural talent for it. He says, “I took accounting because it clicked with me. But I didn’t really feel it was my passion.”

He found that passion after a two-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in China.

“I knew I wanted to do something in humanitarian work,” he says. “And the Red Cross really stood out.” And so this Boston hometown boy packed his bags for New York City three and a half years ago to start his job as a Disaster Response Manager working the overnight shift from midnight to 8 a.m.

Part of a Disaster Action Team – a group of employees and volunteers who are the first, on-the-scene, Red Cross contacts at the site of disasters – Cameron observed the “power of volunteers,” as he calls it. His volunteers responded to countless home fires within an hour of getting a call from the fire department. On site, they provided a shoulder to cry on for those displaced by the fire, and financial assistance in the form of a prepaid debit card that residents could use for shelter at a hotel, groceries, replacing clothing or any other expenses. Then the residents would be referred to Red Cross caseworkers for help with further recovery. 

But back to that meeting with the FBI agents… In addition to home fires, there were unexpected emergencies like when a helicopter crash landed on the roof of a Manhattan building, tragically killing the pilot and erupting in flames.

Cameron at the site of one of his first Disaster Action Team responses in New York City, responding to a multi-family fire in Brooklyn. 

On that freezing cold day, Cameron and his team brought a van loaded with meals, snacks and water to feed first responders as they worked at the site. Cameron also attended meetings with the intelligence agents who were investigating the crash to determine if it was a terrorist act.

Working in New York was never boring, but after a year Cameron wanted to work with the community in a different way. Running public engagement events and prevention programs appealed to him. And so did the sunny skies of California!  

So he moved to Alameda County, to become a Disaster Program Manager, where he helps organize the Home Fire Campaign including the Sound the Alarm program to install free smoke alarms in homes across the county, and the nation.

Cameron and his team of employees and volunteers are also ready to respond to small and large scale tragedies, like when a lightning storm in the summer of 2020 sparked fires across Northern California. Cameron’s team facilitated the opening of an evacuation center and set up a shelter where evacuees from Livermore could sleep, get hot meals, access mental health support and receive the latest information from emergency responders.

Not predictable but definitely rewarding, Cameron says of his work: “You walk away feeling like you did something good.”

A Welcoming Presence

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Ebony Jean Daniel has served as a Red Cross Blood Donor Ambassador – and friendly face – at the Oakland Blood Center for two and a half years, much of that time spent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When looking at the good that is done through this role – every two seconds, someone needs blood,” she said. “That’s why I choose to give the time that I have given at the Red Cross, especially during the pandemic. I had the free time and felt that it was worth it to give the hours I give every week – to take the burden off others.”

As a Blood Donor Ambassador, Ebony Jean helps donors check in for their appointments, ensures COVID-19 health and safety guidelines are being followed and keeps the waiting area and canteen tidy. Perhaps most importantly, she is a welcoming presence and the first and last person donors see at their appointments, thanking them for their time and their lifesaving gift.

“People don’t really understand how vital blood products are for women giving birth. When people deal with terminal illnesses on a daily basis, the blood products they require are so important. These are some of the multiple different reasons why I chose to volunteer with the Red Cross.”

Prior to the pandemic, Ebony Jean was also a Red Cross Humanitarian Services volunteer, navigating the disaster recovery casework process in order to support families affected by disasters big and small, and helping local youth prepare for emergencies through The Pillowcase Project.

Ebony Jean Daniel, Blood Donor Ambassador at the Red Cross Blood, Platelet and Plasma Donation Center in Oakland.

“Under the umbrella of the Red Cross, there is so much good that takes place,” she said. But eventually, Red Cross Blood Services is where Ebony Jean decided to focus her time and talent.

“As far as Blood Services – people just don’t realize that in the time it takes to snap your fingers, that’s how often people require blood for survival. I never know what could come down the line in my future – I might need to be a recipient someday. We knock on wood that this kind of thing doesn’t happen, but you just never know.”

The Red Cross collects about 40% of the nation’s blood, which is precisely why volunteers like Ebony Jean are so critically important to the overall donation process.

“Looking at the whole picture – coming in, giving my time, taking the burden off other Red Cross workers so they can concentrate on their jobs and we can gather more donations – I focus on customer service, so donors have a pleasant experience. I feel there is a personal obligation, but also it is a pleasant experience for me. I have had a lot of positive interactions, and I definitely enjoy that.”

Thank you, Ebony Jean, for all you’ve done and continue to do for the Red Cross and the community. We are lucky to have you as a volunteer and we know countless blood recipients are grateful for the part you play in the blood donation process.

A Track Record for Saving Lives

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By Alex Keilty

There was that one time Ian Wigley gave CPR to a gentleman at a card game, and then there were those other times — at a wedding, a family gathering, and a restaurant — that he helped people who were choking. It’s fair to say that Ian, an Instructor Trainer with the American Red Cross, has a great track record for saving lives. 

American Red Cross Instructor Ian Wigley

Ian teaches frequent first aid classes and says the training is important because, “You CAN help somebody. It will give you the skills and confidence to help until the Emergency Medical Service arrives.”

Ian’s classes include adult and child CPR, choking, how to stop life-threatening bleeding and how to use a defibrillator.

In addition to the people Ian has helped directly, there are also his students who go on to save the lives of others. 

One especially rewarding experience was when a student he had previously taught rushed to tell him how they had been able to assist a coworker who went into cardiac arrest. That man recovered and eventually went back to work.

“I was kind of emotional,” Ian said. “I was excited they were able to help somebody. They had managed to keep calm and do what needed to be done.” 

Class participants Andreina Pardo (left) and Gabrielle Valdez (right)

Gabrielle Valdez and Andreina Pardo attended a recent class taught by Ian. They were on a quest to get certified in first aid for their new jobs in child care.

“Before the class I felt nervous,” Gabrielle said. “Now I feel much more confident.”

They learned how to perform CPR, treat choking, and stop life-threatening bleeding. The Red Cross course they opted for was conducted partly online and partly in person.

“It’s important because you can save someone’s life,” Andreina said. “It’s to be better prepared.”

If you want to feel more confident that you can handle a first aid emergency, you can sign up for Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED skills courses at www.redcross.org.

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