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August 2013 – Kerby News – Page 17Volunteers rescue flood victims from impossible tasksBy Frances DennisI could only watch andwonder. Old and frail, I couldnot even lift the proverbialfeather up the slippery cellarsteps from the flooded basementof my daughter’s home.The flood had not created thesame damage in my owncondo; the main problemwas helping my daughter toclear out 22 years of accumulated“treasures” sitting inthe three feet of water andsewage backup in her house.Up and down the streeteveryone had the sameproblem. The Calgary communityof Erlton, next to theStampede grounds on theElbow River, had beenevacuated on June 20th.In the basement there werecabinets of files, papers andphotographs, sodden boxesof more files, papers, suitcases,cupboards of semi-discardedclothing and dozensof books on makeshift bookcases– shelves separated bybreeze blocks, mostly nowknocked over onto soddencarpets on the floor. Majorappliances - washer and dryer,furnace and hot water boiler –were a complete write-off.Everything had to be lifted toground level, whether for salvageor rubbish.It was almost impossible tosee in the basement because,as in the rest of the house,there was no power, whichhad been cut off as a safetymeasure when the floodwater seeped in. The onlylight was from flashlightsbrought by the volunteers.There was no clean waterand no possibility of hotwater for cleaning purposes.At this stage my only contribution,apart from wringingmy hands in despair,was to write out the mandatorysigns to be put in thefront window. Need pump.Need gas. Need electricity.Rescue came suddenlyfrom unexpected sources.A friend whose day job wasin the realm of high financeoffered to help. He wasjoined by a city lawyer who,forewarned, had boughtnew rubber boots, the laston the shelves of the localstore. He and his daughterarrived by bike and gotstraight to work. Thesethree generous souls hadalready experienced theproblem of basement clearoutwhen they had volunteeredto help others theprevious day.Then quite suddenly, as ifby magic, the house wasfull of young people offeringto help. They came intwos and threes and formeda human chain from thefilthy, muddy basement upthe narrow cellar steps andout into the street wherethey piled up everythingthat was beyond salvation.My daughter, who wasworking away in the basement,was trying hard to protectprecious possessions thatshe thought could be saved.There was Mildred, forinstance, the life-size dressmaker’sdummy broughtfrom England many yearsago. Her grandmother’s furcoat and her own best velvetevening cloak disappeared upthe steps, but she agreed thatthey had been contaminatedbeyond recovery by the dirty,polluted flood water. Thevolunteer brigade was verythorough about checking withthe owner before allocatinganything to the rubbish heap.A young woman appearedwith face masks for us alland insisted we put them on,explaining the hazards theywere to combat. Coffee anddonuts appeared as if fromnowhere just as hunger wassetting in for many workers.Someone called me Grannieand told me, politely, to keepout of the way.It was apparent that some ofthese volunteers had come ontheir own initiative, whileothers, the Samaritan’s Pursefor instance, were making aplanned response to the crisis.Some came with emergencysupplies provided by the RedCross while others were followingguidelines from thelocal community centre.Three hours later, whenthe job was done, the volunteersdisappeared as quicklyas they had come. Off tohelp other families in need.When I ventured out to havea look around, the wholemountain of rubbish haddisappeared, picked up by aCity garbage truck that waspatrolling the area.It still wasn’t possible to livein the house, so my daughterMaison is a refined yet comfortable senior livingresidence opening this year in the heart of Calgary.With the passionate support of Symphony SeniorLiving, Maison is redefining standards of excellencein Canadian senior care. Exquisite attention to detailsreturned with me to my condo.We found that although therewas no flood damage, powerand water were still off andmy neighbours were flushingtheir toilets with waterbrought in buckets from theswimming pool.Frances Dennis is a frequentcontributor to theKerby NewsBowbridge Manor3139 Bowwood Dr. N.W. 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