I am considering learning a trade to be able to assist those in need in disaster areas.

From what I gathered so far, roofing, (mold removal....don't know what the occupation is called) are few things.

Even here in Chicago we experienced flooding in numerous towns nearby. So something like a portable boat would be good. But mainly, occupations or trades I can learn to be of assistance. Any thoughts?

Working with wood.
Plumbing.
Painting.

I'd learn to run a "grabber" type of tractor, able to grasp large chunks of lumber/junk and deposit it into a dumptruck. Owning that dump truck would be a plus...

Linemen, framing carpenters, arborists, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, electricians, rockers, mold abatement specialists, roofers, a buttload of laborers. Pretty much all the trades that it takes to build a house are involved to some extent.

Linemen, heavy equipment operators, truck drivers and arborists will be needed immediately. Others later on. Those involved with anything more than damage control will be in great demand once the insurance money starts becoming available.

Which may depend on how the insurance industry is holding up in the current credit crisis. A lot of the insurance companies are having problems with liquidity. Tight money may cause the insurance companies to aggressively seek to avoid paying claims. Or at least to delay payment.

So there will be a need for disaster assistance attorneys?

I did a couple of medical missions a while back. One of the the missioners was a Reiki practitioner. The medical types sorta wondered what use Reiki would be to the medically under-served in Mexico. I think she provided more useful assistance to the patients than the providers did. I concluded that a big piece of helping out in a bad spot is just being there, offering up your time and your self. The skilled trades are important, but volunteer groups always need somebody to wash the dishes, prepare the food, and hug the crying child-no skills required except abundant humanity.

If you were to consider working any type of labor job after a disaster. I would only work for money or tangible items paid every week or ½ up front.

Having done flood clean up work I can make a good guess that it will go like this. The customer wants it done now and is not concerned about paying you. They expect the insurance company to pay for it so they say to do it all and do it now. If the insurance company approve of your work at all they probably will not pay for up to a year. Many times they will not pay at all because you did not work through them first. The customers will not pay you because they paid for coverage and it’s the insurance companies job to pay. After all why have coverage if not to have stuff like this paid for? They are sure it’s owed to them. But you are the one that gets the shaft.

You just worked your rear end off for free.

Having been down this road more then once, I don’t do any flood or insurance work at all any more.

I like to get paid for the work I do, not to sound cold to the problems others are having. But we all need money to live and I did not cause the problem.

PS a singed document saying they have to pay if the insurance company doesn’t pay is almost worthless, and it will many times cost more to have lawyers and the courts give you a favorable judgment then it’s worth. Even with this, payment can be very slow to come to never getting to you at all. It’s not the thing for a small company or just a guy with a truck and some tools to get into.




Mold removal is an area that is filled with so many problems and legal issues you would not believe all of them. Run away from this work very fast!!!


I’ve seen mold removal that had to be done (legally) with haz—mat suits. You don’t just go in with a sponge or a scraper and pick it up and throw it in a garbage bag.

If you are wanting to do volunteer work, church groups provide mass chainsaw and kitchen groups. Post Katrina, I was out in Mississippi with a Southern Babtist disaster org that was running chainsaw groups and a kitchen unit that the Salvation Army trucks delivered.

I've been pricing SkidSteers with grapling buckets Def. something I want for the property and moving debri/trees/brush VERY HANDY.

Tree triming/removal!
Have chainsaw, will travel.

-Blast

Agreed. A good industrial strength wood chipper and you could double your money disposing of unwanted wood from one place while selling it as absorbent natural mulch fill elsewhere.

Baptists with chainsaws!!!???

Blast with chainsaws!!!!!!?????

What is the world coming to?

> But mainly, occupations or trades I can learn to be of assistance.

I think there are too many variables. There's no way to know where in the US a disaster will occur and what, if any trades will be useful. I gave similar consideration on how to help during the weeks after the September 11 attacks; at my age and condition I decided on becoming a ham radio operator. My wife and I have joined some local clubs that volunteer for emergencies, and we've become integrated into the first responder community here.

I hadn't thought of it at all, but being _known_ is very important to first responders. We've worked with them in training and in volunteering for fund raising events (bike-thons, walk-athons, and such for the American [insert disease/disability here] Association to raise money for their special interests), and we work with other hams who also become known to first responders. Once you're known, the people who 'manage' disasters have a handle on what your strengths and weaknesses are and can judge when and where to throw you into the mess. Unknowns who show up out of the blue and want to help are called cowboys, and nobody knows what to do with them. They don't know what needs to be done, have to be micromanaged, and generally are more trouble than they're worth. Even if you're an expert, nobody knows that, and you're lumped in with the unknowns.

If you want to be engaged in trades and be known in your community as a reliable responder, volunteer now for Habitats for Humanity, Burners Without Borders, or other such work groups that send people out to rebuild and repair damage caused by natural disasters. If you have no skills now, working with a group now will start you on your way.

You really are needed, by the way. Please do find a group or two you're interested in and volunteer now.

Oh man, I just found my calling!

-Blast

Learn to cook mass quantities of good food. There's always a need for a good cook around the campfire.

I'll second what Philip says. Someone who is CERT trained the responders can give or take, depending on their team and how they've been used in the past, but they will usually pass. Someone with CERT and more advanced first aid is a bit better; CERT with FA with a Ham license and willing to use it to connect rescue efforts or staff an EOC gets more interesting; but at the moment, CERT + FA + Ham + a Stihl 290 Farm Boss chainsaw and the wherewithal to use it to clear roads for fire trucks after a storm is golden. Don't expect any of the money-making trades to kick in much before the roads are cleared and a semblance of normal is restored. You want to survive and help others to do the same, make yourself useful. There's nothing on TV anyway.

Yep. Looks like I'm going to go down and provide comms for a distribution center, out of my truck. A cot and all the MREs you can eat, yum yum!

Good Luck, Beadles!!!!!

How about selling stuff. That is where the real money is. Lumber, hardware, etc

That might require a local license, something that might be a little difficult to obtain at that point in time. Unless of course you plan on giving the food away...

Tree and debris removal would seem like the simplest with the least government intervention and insurance company hassles. No cop is going to bother you if you are cleaning up stuff.

Drive around the effected area and ask the people there if they want things cleaned up and stacked by the road, give them a price and go to work. No taxes (everyone pays cash) no fees or licensees to buy.

Any kind of auto will work for this, a few saws, rope, and some twine to bundle the brush up. Not a lot of tools needed.

A couple weeks after one of the Florida hurricanes in 2004, I spent some time with a group from our church that did a lot of volunteer cleanup work in the affected areas.

People were constantly surprised that we'd help them cut up fallen trees without charging them. Someone with a decent commercial chainsaw, the appropriate training and safety gear, and the ability to maintain their own saw(s) could have made a reasonable amount of money for weeks. The middle-class neighborhoods are full of people that just need help cutting up fallen trees and getting them to the curb. I personally wouldn't work in lower-class neighborhoods for money, since there are volunteer groups that will eventually do it for free. Still-standing trees and trees actually on houses are better left alone for insurance reasons.

If you can repair, sharpen, or maintain a chainsaw, you can make good money. We were lucky to have two different shops donating their repair work in our staging area, but we would have gladly paid $20 a saw to get some back in action.

In really affected areas where buildings have come apart, plugging nail holes in tires could easily be a full-time job for the first couple of days.

In our area, after the biggest storm hit us, for weeks I think every redneck with a pickup and open trailer was hauling as much tree debris as they could pile onto it. I didn't really look into it, but I believe the county set up a really easy subcontracting system. They either just paid by the truckload/pound or maybe set up a prequalifying system. Not sure which. But every lawn trailer quickly got sides built out of 2x4s and plywood and was hauling huge piles to chipper stations.

Blasters without Borders.....

Sue

"They expect the insurance company to pay for it so they say to do it all and do it now."

When it comes to flooding, a lot of people find out the hard way that flood damage is not covered by their homeowner's policy. Most people don't have flood insurance unless their mortgage holder insists on it. As far as I know, there is only one company that deals with flood insurance, and that's the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program).

Sue

Some of the more unethecial insurance companies will take the national flood insurance and mark it up and sell it. When we sold our house one of the big points we couldn't change was that it needed flood insurance. Its no where near water but fell under the elevation rule. We offered to transfer the existing policy which had a 6 months left on it and the buyer came back and wanted a whole year. So we contacted our agent to cancel the existing and start a year in her name and then found out the buyer had to have it through nationwide and it cost an extra $50 due to their markup.

Pretty much anything in the construction industry, carpentry, electrical, havey machine, & demo just to name a few. There will be no shortage of work for anyone of every experience level. First Aid is something else that is good in disaster situations. Hope this helps.

goat

I understand the tendency to 'flood the zone' and have everyone available come in and help it may not be the best thing to do. Every person who shows up has to be taken care of. They will need food, water, a place to sleep, sanitation and they require organizing.

It is more effective to stage them into an area in waves. First in are emergency services and rescue to get, stranded, injured or dead out. Then crews to clear the roads. Also utility workers will fan out to map out the damage and make sure any compromised gas, water, sewer and power lines are isolated so undamaged sections can be reconnected and service restored quickly without casing fires or more problems.

Then come the linemen who work from large to small and trying to reconnect the most people and most important sites, like hospitals, get connected ASAP.

Once the roads are passable damage control crews of carpenters can get in and tarp damaged homes. Movers can extract the contents of homes too damaged to restore in a timely manner.

It will be a case by case, perhaps lot by lot, basis as to how it is timed and coordinated but I don't see much use for carpentry, interior electrical, sheetrock or painting crews on Galveston island at this time. They aren't ready. There are plenty of 'warm bodies around'. Later, once the situation is stabilized, there will be more work than hands.

Some guy did that after Katrina. He brought down a bunch of generators, and the cops confiscated them all - there's some law against making a profit after a disaster, so the generators sat in evidence and nobody ever got to use them. The goal of the law was to prevent carpet baggers from coming in and overcharging people in need, so the goal was, er, admirable I guess, but selling stuff will be a problem.

"...law against making a profit after a disaster..."

That being the case, I know a lot of gas station owners/oil companies who need some jail time...

Thank you sir! Definite now, heading out Tuesday for a 5 day shift.