SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Hurricane season might seem like a distant concern, but local first responders and community volunteers believe there’s no time to waste when it comes to being prepared.

The I-10 Disaster Co-Op will hold an organizational meeting at noon April 14 at Fire Station 1 on Spanish Fort Boulevard, and anyone interested in mobilizing to assist in times of disaster are invited to attend.

The grassroots group, formed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina nearly six years ago, is designed to pool — and direct — available resources to maximize response time and impact in emergency situations.

“It’s a very simple concept, all of us working together. Everybody has different resources, and if all the people bring those resources together, it makes us stronger,” said Deann Servos, director of Prodisee Pantry in Spanish Fort and a founding member of the volunteer organization.

The idea, she said, is for the communities north of Interstate 10 to organize disaster relief operations that can not only assist Baldwin County communities affected directly by disasters but to also tend to the needs of evacuees from southern portions of the county.

“If we all work together, it’s so much more effective than struggling to unload (tractor-trailer) rigs in individual church parking lots,” she said.

The group currently consists of area first responders, business leaders, about 12 churches and organizations such as the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross and the local Volunteers Assisting with Disaster affiliate. The April 14 organizational meeting will serve to not only welcome new members but to educate everyone involved on how to best prepare and mobilize response in their own communities.

Prodisee Pantry, for example, maintains a stockpile of about 25 pallets of disaster-relief food and water weighing about one ton each.

Church leaders will take back with them postcards to distribute among their congregations to collect contact information. A database will then be compiled and phone chains will be activated to check in on parishioners in the event of an emergency.

In addition, a disaster relief team will be mobilized from Spanish Fort’s Fire Station 1 within eight hours of any disaster. This team will also activate its own phone tree contacting area residents with everything from available pickup trucks and chain saws to people willing to make sandwiches and answer phones.

Servos said although hurricane season typically commands most of the group’s attention, it can, in theory, be activated at any time during the year, such as when a tornado ripped through Silverhill on March 9.

“We weren’t asked to activate then, but we could have,” she said.

At the very least, the organizational meeting will serve to remind local residents what they need to do to be prepared in case of emergencies.

Said Spanish Fort Fire-Rescue Chief Roger Few: “I think (the co-op) is a valuable community-based group that provides a much needed service in times of disaster, and we are pleased to be a partner in their efforts.”

Participants in the meeting will also receive recently revised evacuation route maps and preparedness packets for church leaders to take back and share with their missions committees and pastors. Attendees are encouraged to bring a sack lunch.

“Mainly, we’re just trying to remind people gently to be prepared because most people around here don’t really start paying attention to things like this until June. This way, if something happens sooner, we’re ready to spring into action,” Servos said.

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