Published: August 27, 2008 10:55 pm      

RED CROSS: Niagara's rapid response

Red Cross volunteers on their way to Mississippi as hurricane nears

They are an unlikely duo to be riding to the possible rescue for those threatened by Hurricane Gustav.

A strapping pizza delivery guy and a petite grandmother, Joseph Highway and Dorothy Carter are leaving today for Hattiesburg, Miss., to prepare for Gustav’s arrival on the Gulf Coast. Forecasters say Gustav could grow into a dangerous Category 3 storm, with winds of between 111 and 130 mph.

It is expected to make landfall somewhere between the Florida Panhandle and the Texas Gulf Coast by Monday. It is the strongest storm to threaten the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

As officials in New Orleans plan a possible large scale evacuation, Highway and Carter are more than ready to head into harm’s way as Red Cross disaster relief volunteers.

“I love to help people,” said Carter a 61-year-old woman who says she used to drive trucks for a living but now just helps to take care of her grandchildren. “If someone had told me 10 years ago I’d be doing this, I’d have said, ‘No way!’ But now, it’s an adventure.”

She and Highway are not new to the disaster response business. The pair was in San Diego two years ago during some severe wildfires and in New Hampshire in 2007 to help folks forced from their homes by massive flooding from a powerful Nor’easter storm.

They also assisted those in need in this area during the surprise October storm of 2006.

“We live in Western New York and if you can survive the Blizzard of ’77, you can handle this,” Highway said.

The pair are heading south now as part of the Red Cross’ disaster pre-positioning plan. They’re taking the Niagara County Red Cross Chapter Emergency Rescue Vehicle (ERV) with them.

“The reason for pre-positioning is because of the lessons we learned from Katrina,” local Red Cross Executive Director Maureen Siekierski said. “We want to get people in place so as soon as the storm is over, they are able to just get out and help.”

Siekierski said once the storm is over, Highway and Carter will head from Hattiesburg to whatever area has been most affected. She said the national Red Cross is also pre-positioning as much materials and supplies as possible.

“We really did learn a lot of lessons from Katrina,” she said. “The more resources we can have in place in the affected areas, the better.”

Despite the risks involved, Highway said he has no second thoughts about heading into the teeth of Gustav.

“I’m driven to help people,” he said. “That’s what we’re here for. (The possible danger) doesn’t bother us.”

Though Carter also admits riding to the rescue in a disaster is not “a vacation.”

“Lots of folks would be going the other way,” she said. “But they’re leaving to keep their families safe. We’re going to help those who can’t get out. They need comfort and compassion.”