Volunteers not forgetting pets made homeless by fire

Stephen Curran

Friday, June 28, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

As rescue personnel from throughout the Southwest descend upon Arizona, eight Las Vegas men are joining the fight to save pets displaced by the worst wildfire in the state's history.

The Emergency Disaster Assistance Corps, a Las Vegas-based volunteer group with about 300 members nationally, left Thursday for White River, a town about 10 miles south of Show Low, the eastern Arizona community that has been under seige by the fire for more than a week.

For many of the 300 residents who have lost homes to the fires, missing their pets is like missing a member of the family, said the group's Capt. B.J. Tidwell.

"My pets are a part of my family, and I know how upset I'd be if something happened to them," Tidwell said.

If needed, the group is prepared to send 10 to 15 more volunteers this weekend.

Shelters set up to help those displaced by the fires do not allow pets, he said. The volunteers plan to take in the families' animals, he said.

The group is also prepared to serve as support for firefighters in the area, by bringing food and chefs to feed the men and women fighting the blaze.

Gene Zander, 18, of Las Vegas, an American Red Cross-trained chef, will be joining the men. Tidwell introduced Zander to the group two months ago, when they were both working at the scene of a car accident.

"I think my unique expertise will come in handy," Zander said.

Zander was trained by the American Red Cross as part of the Community Emergency Response Team, which is taught ways to assist in situations such as the wildfires. CERT members carry a backpack containing rescue supplies and emergency food, he said.

Groups such as this can sometimes be a mixed blessing for emergency personnel, said Bob Leinbach, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department. While he was not familiar with EDAC, he said that groups like this can either help or hinder emergency efforts, but that individuals with specialized training or resources can be an asset.

"You can look at it either way," Leinbach said. "Sometimes people really want to help, but they just get in the way."

Generally speaking, Leinbach said that in the case of an emergency, "you can use every hand you can get."

For Tidwell, the decision to help comes from a childhood raised in a small town in Texas.

"The way I was raised, people volunteer to help their neighbors," he said. "That's important even here in the big city."