Elkhart Church Participates in Disaster Drill

Red Cross staff and community volunteers discuss and evaluate the FBCI disaster drill at Central Christian Church in Elkhart.

The Elkhart County Chapter of the American Red Cross held their first mock disaster drill on March 13 at Central Christian Church in Elkhart. The drill was part of the Red Cross’s Faith Based Community Initiative (FBCI). Twelve members of Central Christian participated in the drill.

Three other Elkhart churches that were part of the exercise were Canaan Baptist, Guidance Ministries, and Community Missionary Baptist Church.

The Red Cross developed FBCI to use churches for shelters, housing persons displaced from their homes by disasters. The Red Cross provides the equipment and trains church member volunteers in all necessary activities to set up the shelter and register clients, as well as to distribute food, blankets, and care packages.

In the event of a disaster, volunteers will be able to administer the shelter for as many days as needed until the displaced persons are relocated, with overall management provided by Red Cross staff and volunteers.

The drill was conducted in two sessions. Scenarios were preplanned by the Red Cross staff. Central and one of the visiting churches acted as the host church in the morning session. The other two churches role played the part of residents displaced from a large apartment building fire. In the afternoon the parts were reversed for a scenario depicting a flooded housing development. An evaluation and critique session followed each exercise.

The volunteers from Central Christian were pleased to be a part of the FBCI and to be able to use the church building to help those in need in our community. The drill provided essential preparation for the congregation to assist their neighbors affected by a disaster.

Mike Wills serves Central Christian Church in Elkhart as Senior Minister.