American Red Cross outlines disaster support, asks first responders to use dedicated hotline

Lisa Sedlak, a member of the American Red Cross disaster action team and the regional fire department liaison, told the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Commission that the Red Cross provides shelter, food, emotional support and long-term recovery casework after local disasters.

"We try to respond within 2 hours," Sedlak said, describing the local DAT's goal after a first-responder notification. She said Red Cross aid is available even when a home is not a total loss, and that services—including help replacing eyeglasses or prescription medication and connecting families to local resources—are provided at no cost to recipients.

Sedlak described canteen services that supply snacks, light meals and hydration for responders and survivors at extended incidents, pet-sheltering coordination, and a smoke-alarm program that installs free 10-year alarms in at-risk homes. She asked fire and EMS personnel to give dispatchers the agency name, on-scene contact and basic client information (address, ZIP code, vulnerable occupants) to speed DAT deployment.

She gave a dedicated first-responder disaster hotline number for Red Cross referrals—833-583-3111—and said the public should continue to use the general 1-800 Cross number. Sedlak also provided local contact information for Jordan Brown, community disaster program manager in Roanoke, and listed her email lisa.sedlock@redcross.org for follow-up.

The presentation concluded with Sedlak encouraging departments to request Red Cross assistance early so caseworkers can begin follow-up and long-term recovery support after the DAT leaves the scene.