Red Cross volunteer: shadow hero for disaster victims

They are there day and night, regardless of the weather: in the shadow of firefighters and police officers, around thirty people in Quebec dedicate themselves every week, voluntarily, to helping disaster victims who have sometimes lost everything.

Denis Lessard does not hide it, it is not a job that is always easy and that is made for everyone. But it’s also a commitment that can be deeply rewarding.

“Just the fact of being able to help people… to receive at the end of an intervention a disaster victim who comes to take you by the arms and then thank you because they would have been helpless if we hadn't been That’s a great reward,” he said.

A volunteer with the Red Cross, he is one of around thirty people who take turns seven days a week in the region to be ready to intervene in the event of an event causing disaster victims or evacuees.

Never the same

Most of the time, these are residential fires: this is the case about twice a week, estimates Mr. Lessard. On other occasions, it may be floods, landslides or even evacuations caused by a police operation.

“No two interventions are ever the same,” explains Mr. Lessard, who is responsible for the individual services intervention team at the Red Cross for the Capitale-Nationale.

After 18 years of involvement, the reality on the ground continues to surprise him. This is what makes this work so exciting.

“When it's criminal, it's more delicate, especially when the person who is alleged to have started the fire is on our bus with the others [sinistrés]», Underlines the retired electrical engineer, aged 67.

Make a difference

While emergency services fight the threat, the role of volunteers is primarily to offer comfort in a safe place, an RTC bus.

Those who cannot return to their homes are then offered 72 hours of emergency assistance for accommodation, food and clothing.

This human presence makes a big difference when emotion and distress are palpable.

“When we give blankets to people, we also give little stuffed animals to the children. And I will tell you that when you give a dog to a child who is crying on the bus, it completely changes their reaction, but also that of the parents.

“There is no small drama,” illustrates the man who has received several distinctions, notably for exceptional meritorious service.

Not indifferent

Volunteers are obviously not indifferent to the human tragedies that unfold before their eyes, especially when they involve a loss of life.

“At some point, we have to put that aside and [qu’on] takes care of the victims in front of us. But it is certain that at the time, when we deal with disaster victims who have lost a neighbor or even a relative, it is not easy,” notes Denis Lessard.

Once again this year, Red Cross volunteers will be available during the holiday season, which is unfortunately often the scene of fires, according to Mr. Lessard.