Firefighters and emergency crews aren’t the only ones who respond to large fires and other tragic events in the community – the Red Cross shows up, too.

As first responders do their job, the Red Cross makes sure emergency crews are taken care of, as well.

These responses are officially called “rehab,” but are also called a “canteen,” according to Monica Bruns, disaster program specialist for the Hanford Dole Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“When we have a large canteen operation, we will go out and take care of all the firefighters and all the first responders,” said Sheila Crunkleton, executive director of the Hanford Dole Chapter of the American Red Cross.

During rehab, emergency responders take the vitals of the firefighters and Red Cross volunteers make sure they are hydrated and fed.

“They need hydration,” Bruns said. “They need sustenance.”

She added that many times those same first responders work for long periods of time without relief.

Red Cross volunteers are dispatched, much like emergency crews, when those on the scene realize they’ll need the organization’s assistance.

“They have the Red Cross dispatched just like a fire department is dispatched,” Bruns said.

“We operate based on an on-call system,” Crunkleton said. “If they need us, they call us.”

The Red Cross always has volunteers on call, ready to respond to an emergency. They come to a scene armed with water, sports drinks and snacks.

If the fire or other emergency overlaps with meal time or ends up being a particularly lengthy assignment, the Red Cross also works with nearby restaurants to get meals for first responders.

“The Red Cross is there to support our emergency services personnel on the scene of an incident,” Bruns said, but added that what it specifically looks like varies from emergency to emergency.

“We tailor our set up to meet the need of incident,” she said.

When the Dunbar Center in East Spencer burned down last week, the Red Cross set up in a nearby church, where they provided warm beverages.

In Sunday’s fire at Mid-State Manufacturing in Mount Ulla, the volunteers set up a cafeteria-style line outdoors.

“It was pretty much eat and go,” Bruns said.

Right now, however, accomplishing the task of caring for first responders is harder than it seems.

Although the Red Cross has relationships with local stores and restaurants that donate some food items, their rehab supplies are low.

Bruns said that although they don’t want to seem needy, “it’s great when you have someone who’s willing to donate.”

“There’s nothing better than the community coming together to take care of their community,” she said.

They need bottled water, sports drinks and individually packaged snack foods.

“They want things that are easy to shove in the pockets of their turnout gear,” Bruns said.

Bruns said they prefer power bars, chips, raisins, peanut butter crackers and granola to candy and other sweets to give the emergency responders more sustenance.

The Red Cross is unable to store fresh items, such as fruits and vegetables.

Those interested in donating drinks, snacks or funds can contact Bruns at 704-633-3854, extension 107.