Two local volunteers with the American Red Cross Jersey Coast Chapter went to the aid of thousands of wild fire victims in the San Diego, Calif., area last month.
Joe Raffetto, a longtime Red Bank resident, received training at the Tinton Falls-based Jersey Coast Chapter, served as a volunteer during the September 11 recovery effort, and has continued his Red Cross work on the West Coast where he now runs a desert tour business in Borrego Springs, California.
Ellen Korpar, a financial consultant who lives in Ocean Township, first became involved with the American Red Cross after the devastating hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Korpar began her Red Cross training by taking classes that concentrated on disaster services. Raffetto took safe driving courses and family services classes offered by the Red Cross.
The Red Cross offers a variety of different training tracks for volunteers. The classes range from learning how to administer CPR and first aid to driving an emergency response vehicle.
These two volunteers share a common thread, the desire to lend a helping hand to those in desperate need of assistance.
According to the San Diego Tribune, two major fires caused the most destruction in San Diego County, burning some 287,000 acres and causing close to $20 million in firefighting costs.
With that much devastation and destruction, thousands of volunteers joined together to help out in California.
Korpar dedicated her time in California to working as a supervisor at a distribution site, helping victims of the fires.
“We call them clients, not victims, because everything is so emotional with them, they might have total losses like we’re experiencing here. They go home and there is nothing left for them to go home to,” Korpar said.
Korpar arrived on Oct. 23 and stayed right outside the San Diego area. She spent most of her time giving out essential items such as personal care items, food and clean-up supplies to people affected by the fires.
“We’re here everyday to give them necessary daily supplies, plus clean-up items if they need it,” Korpar said.
Korpar said she witnessed strangers and community members pulling together to help one another.
“You see people bringing their neighbors up who might not have cars or [who] lost their cars in the fire. They’re chauffeuring their neighbors over to the site. Everybody is helping each other,” she said.
The emotional stories Korpar heard while working at the distribution site affected her deeply. She said her initial reaction to the devastation of the fires was to cry.
“You see the people come in who have burns on their hands, it’s just terrible,” Korpar said.
Already in California when the devastating fires broke out, Raffetto was one of the first Red Cross members to provide assistance at a town-organized evacuation center in Borrego Springs.
“Basically one or two hours after I got there the rest of the Red Cross started filling in. They started bringing in tents and cots and started taking care of everybody. There was more than enough, nobody was wanting anything, it went very smoothly,” he said.
fire victims
Raffetto was in charge of logistics at the evacuation center. He was responsible for storing and dispensing supplies to the victims.
Because Raffetto has been living in California, he was able to experience and see the damage from the fires first hand. Several days after the fires began; he took one of his daily scenic drives down to route 94.
“I was really shocked at the wind speed. I could see the plumes of smoke and the glow from the fires,” Raffetto said.
Their volunteer work doesn’t stop at California for Korpar and Raffetto. Korpar volunteers her time and help for local response work in New Jersey such as local fires or floods. When she is available, she will dedicate her time and energy for national disasters.
Raffetto has made his volunteerism bicoastal.
“I am still an active member of the Jersey Coast Chapter, and now we’re doing something where I am going to be a hybrid between San Diego and the Jersey Coast,” he said.