Nancy Searle has seen first-hand what the American Red Cross can do for people.

As missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nancy and her husband Paul had the chance to volunteer with the Red Cross. The Searles, who served in Colorado Springs, were assigned to brief soldiers stationed at Fort Carson about the ways the Red Cross could assist them if there was a death or other family emergency.

“When something like that happens and soldiers need to get home quickly, the Red Cross gets involved to help make that happen,” Nancy Searle said. “We really liked what the Red Cross could do and we came to see the importance and usefulness of it.”

When the Searles’ mission ended and they returned home to Vernal, the couple decided that they wanted to continue to volunteer with the Red Cross. The problem was that there weren’t many local volunteer opportunities to come by.

To remedy that, the Searles traveled to Salt Lake to meet with area chapter officials about the possibility of establishing a volunteer team in the Uintah Basin. Thanks to their efforts, as well as the efforts of Uintah County Emergency Manager Michelle Dana, the Basin’s first disaster action team was established over the summer.

Kathy Luke, a volunteer trainer for the Utah Red Cross, said disaster action teams — or DATs — are an essential part of providing Red Cross relief.

“It all starts with these teams,” Luke said. “They are made up entirely of volunteers who provide the initial assessment of what help is needed. They make sure anyone who has been affected by a disaster has a place to sleep, food to eat and clothes to wear.”

Mostly, DAT volunteers provide assistance to the victims of house fires. But Luke said they are also trained in how to set up Red Cross shelters after widespread natural disasters like tornadoes, floods or earthquakes.

“Volunteers know how to react to something like a single house fire that affects just one family to something as big as Hurricane Katrina, that affects thousands of people,” she said.

Disaster action teams operate on a 24/7 basis, with volunteers on call around the clock. So far, DAT volunteers have responded to three or four house fires since being trained in July.

The devastating impact of those house fires on the families who were affected by them is something Searle said she won’t soon forget.

In particular, she said she remembers one fire in the Neola area. The residence of a single mother and her two young children had burned completely to the ground. They escaped with their lives, but not much else, Searle said.

“They didn’t have any money for a crib or clothes or baby supplies,” she said. “They didn’t even have much support from relatives. It was nice to be able to help them and watch this program in action.”

Dana said having a local response team greatly reduces the time that it takes to get Red Cross emergency assistance to Basin residents.

“In the past, we had a lady here who worked for the county, and the fire marshal would call her when there was a family who needed help,” she said. “Then, she would contact someone from the Red Cross office in Salt Lake and they would send supplies or assistance. So there was a system in place, but it wasn’t very organized or efficient.”

Now that a local response team has been established, volunteers can be on scene almost immediately, Dana said.

In addition to helping out in emergencies, DAT volunteers are currently working to secure agreements with local entities and organizations to designate certain buildings across the Basin as official Red Cross shelters. These buildings would be utilized in the event of a widespread emergency.

In order to be fully prepared for such a widespread emergency — and to be able to continue to respond efficiently to day-to-day emergencies — Dana said she would love to see more local residents volunteer to be a part of the disaster action team.

“This kind of a program really takes a passionate citizen volunteer,” she said. “We really need people who care enough to help out.”

In particular, Dana said she would love to see volunteers from Duchesne County organize their own team. Eleven people in the Tri-County area were trained to be DAT volunteers last July, but all of them were either from Uintah or Daggett Counties, and many of them are no longer available to be on call to respond to emergencies.

Luke said Red Cross chapter officials will travel to Duchesne County to train volunteers who are interested in participating. People with questions about the program should contact Luke at (801) 323-7000 or visit the Web site www.utahredcross.org.