Fire and flood: Red Cross on P.E.I. has busy year

Volunteers with the Red Cross on P.E.I. were kept busy this year with activity both on and off the Island.

The organization was busiest in the province with helping victims of home fires, said Alanna Green, the Red Cross's program manager in the province. Seventy Islanders were helped out with food, clothing, and emergency housing in connection with 29 fires.

Six volunteers were deployed to emergencies off Island; four to the New Brunswick floods, one to B.C. to help with flooding there. One person travelled to Toronto to help after an apartment fire.

Green said the number of Red Cross volunteers has grown to 47 and the group is always looking for more.

"It's a mixture of everything," Green said of the work being done.

"We have some people that just assist as an on call for fires, we have some people who have the ability to deploy to different areas, which any of our volunteers have that opportunity."

The group also loaned out more than 1,500 pieces of health equipment to clients recovering from surgery, returning home from hospital, or in palliative care.

On the water safety front, 675 kids took part in Red Cross water safety programs and 350 PFDs were loaned out.

For the coming year, Green said the group hopes to do more mock exercises.

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