From the time Randy Jones arrived in Montgomery, Alabama the day after Katrina made landfall, until his return to New York three weeks later, he and his Safety and Security teams spent 18 hour days on the road, driving between Vicksburg, Jackson, Meridian, Brookhaven and Natchez, Mississippi to survey Red Cross shelters for safety hazards and ensure that shelters truly were the safe havens they were intended to be.

Randy, who became the Director of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Training and Disaster Safety Officer for the American Red Cross in Greater New York in June 2005, called this a great "feet-to-the-fire” learning experience. He and his six two-person Safety and Security teams were charged with finding potential or actual hazards that could jeopardize the safety of hurricane survivors or Red Cross staff members. 

“When people donate their church as a shelter,” he said, “They are not set up for occupancy. They may not know to take down exposed wiring, to check for infrastructure hazards like doors that open inward or long, dark hallways where people can hide, or to fix trip, slip and fall risks like loose rugs and wet or oily surfaces.” Randy added that often shelters pile up boxes in hallways when they run out of storage space for food, water and other necessities, without leaving room to walk, another hazard. 

At one point, Randy and his teams were responsible for 86 shelters as well as 14 kitchens and 2 service centers. “We tried to visit each site at least every other day, perform site surveys, and deal with any safety and security needs site directors couldn't address themselves,” he said.

Many donated shelter sites were built decades or even hundreds of years ago long before current safety standards were in place. One church that had been converted to a Red Cross shelter housing forty staff members had had so many additions throughout the years that it had become what Randy called “A fire maze.”

“It had no direct paths to the exits and no exit lighting,” he said. “A volunteer who"d been there for days asked if we knew the way out. We didn’t. Had a fire broken out, this was a guaranteed trap. We recommended the shelter be relocated to a safer facility.”   

One of the worst shelters the teams encountered was a school in Gulfport, Mississippi that had no electricity or running water. It housed more than 100 evacuees in 100 degree heat and 90% humidity. “Literally you were taken aback by the smell when you walked into the shelter,” said Randy. “Someone suggested everyone smear Vicks VapoRub under their nostrils.” Although Randy and his group considered recommending the shelter be closed, they instead coordinated with local companies to do exhaustive cleanup and deliver Porta-potties.

Firearms and violence were two other security risks Randy looked out for. For obvious reasons, the Red Cross does not allow guns in shelters. Randy and his teams would assess the ratio between staff and evacuees, learn the makeup of the evacuees and inquire about any past occurrences of violence or harassment. “We become the law enforcement liaisons for shelter personnel to reach out to either local law enforcement or the National Guard,” he said.

At one shelter, two retired police officers brought in their firearms, which they are allowed by law to carry. Randy had mental health personnel assess their state of mind. After they were deemed rational and responsible, they were allowed to make their own decision about the guns—and checked them with the police when they entered the shelter.

Thankfully, Randy said, he knew of few incidents of violence. “It wasn’t gang fights, more violence as a result of people being frustrated and drained,” he said. “With 20 to 3,400 people in a shelter, it doesn’t take much to make tempers flair. One frustrated person can start a fight. Our goal was to prevent, rather than react to that situation.”

In addition, Randy and his crew drew “physical security” (read “bodyguard duty”) for country music singer Faith Hill, who arrived in Gulfport, MS, with two 18-wheelers: one refrigerator truck and one filled with dry goods. They traveled with Hill to various shelters in the region to handle crowd control.  Luckily, this became a non-issue when Hill cancelled visits to the larger shelters to avoid crowd control concerns, and arrived at the smaller shelters at mid-day, when many storm survivors were working at local cleanup jobs.

Randy sums up his experience in the Gulf Coast with these words: “It was beneficial to see how the big Red Cross machine rolls into place. And it was refreshing to see so many great, huge-hearted people.”