Monroe County emergency officials have gained an important tool for managing evacuations during a disaster.

The county Red Cross has been given a disaster relief trailer through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The trailer is filled with everything the Red Cross would need to set up a temporary shelter during an evacuation.

"In the past, when we had to set up a shelter, it meant going into the basement, bringing stuff up, getting it into a truck, getting it to a shelter and putting it back down," said Bob Werts, program manager for the Northeast Pennsylvania Counter-Terrorism Task Force.

"This way, everything will be stored in the trailer, ready to go," he added.

The last time the Red Cross had to set up a temporary shelter was during a Jan. 12 chemical spill in Delaware Water Gap, said Gail Toscano, program coordinator for the Red Cross.

A chemical spill at Vertellus Health and Specialty Products forced more than 30 people to leave their homes and the Martz bus station.

While the response that day was good, Toscano said, it will be even faster in the future with the new trailer.

The trailer is stocked with cots, tents and food preparation equipment — everything necessary to set up a temporary shelter.

"It's not only an asset for the Red Cross and the volunteer organizations," Werts said. "Also it's an asset for the counter-terrorism task force. We can call on this and have this asset readily available, not only here in Monroe County but in the eight counties of the task force."

That makes the disaster relief trailer a shared asset among Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Carbon, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna and Lackawanna counties that are part of the task force.

"Hopefully we won't run into terrorist activities or anything like that," Werts said. "But in those events where anyone would be homeless we could set up shelters and set them up rather quickly now."

Source: Pocono Record