TBM shifting gears—not pulling out—after month in Rowlett

Texas Baptist Men disaster workers from far and near help clear debris in eastern Dallas County. (Photo / Ken Camp)

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ROWLETT—After one month and more than 2,000 volunteer days providing disaster relief to tornado-ravaged parts North Texas, Texas Baptist Men prepared to move from a broad-based day-to-day presence to specialized teams serving on request.

LakePointe Wes Sanders 450Wes Sanders, a Texas Baptist Men volunteer from LakePointe Church in Rockwall, helps clear debris in Rowlett. (Photo / Ken Camp)In Rowlett alone, the storm hit more than 1,100 homes, plus hundreds more in neighboring Garland and in less densely populated areas to the south, the day after Christmas. Since then, trained TBM disaster relief workers served 1,487 volunteer days in Dallas County, plus an additional 44 in Ellis and Collin counties. TBM also coordinated individuals and church groups who contributed 485 volunteer days.

‘Not going to just walk away’

TBM planned to close its mobile command post, which provided an on-site presence at First Baptist Church in Rowlett, but the missions organization will continue to coordinate the ongoing relief effort from the Dixon Missions Equipping Center in east Dallas.

“We could be working for months. We’re not going to just walk away,” said Terry Henderson, state disaster relief director for TBM.

Alley debris removal 450A skid-steer operator helps remove debris from an alley in Rowlett. (Photo / Ken Camp)By Day 31 of the disaster relief operation in eastern Dallas County, TBM volunteers completed 152 chainsaw jobs, 186 debris removal projects and covered 30 homes with temporary roofs.

“There haven’t been as many chainsaw requests as we might have expected because whole houses are having to be demolished. So, it’s not a matter of getting a tree off a roof to repair it,” said Duane Bechtold from Hunters Glen Baptist Church, who worked multiple shifts as director of the incident command center in Rowlett.

Rowlett alley debris removal 450Volunteers from Austin Baptist Association work alongside other volunteers to remove debris from alleys in Rowlett. (Photo / Ken Camp)TBM volunteers provided access for 347 showers and washed 242 loads of laundry. They also prepared 8,918 meals for volunteer workers and emergency services personnel.

Volunteer chaplains made 281 contacts, TBM workers delivered 123 Bibles and 13 gospel tracts, and they recorded four professions of faith in Christ.


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TBM volunteers distributed 5,136 boxes in Dallas County and 1,833 in Ellis County to residents whose homes had been hit by tornadoes, providing a way to gather scattered belongings.

Demolition to begin soon

Heavy equipment operators devoted 237 hours to the disaster relief effort. Henderson expected that number to rise significantly in upcoming weeks when TBM workers begin home demolitions—a service the missions group first offered in the aftermath of the 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West.

“A large percentage of the people here are insured, but they’re underinsured,” he said. “They get a settlement, but they’re finding out it’s not enough to cover clearing and rebuilding.”

The average cost to demolish a home in the area and haul off the debris is about $10,000, he added.

Debris removal

Before beginning demolition, heavy equipment operators assisted with debris removal.

skidsteer 450Joe Henard, a skid-steer operator from Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, worked with Texas Baptist Men to clear debris in Rowlett. (Photo / Ken Camp)Joe Henard, a skid-steer operator from Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, received a call Jan. 26 when another heavy equipment operator had to leave Rowlett due to a family emergency. Henard drove to Dallas County, arriving about 11 p.m., and started to work clearing debris the next morning.

“We called around and couldn’t find anybody else who was available. So, I take that as a divine appointment,” he said.

During the last weekend in January, skid-steer operators joined other TBM volunteers in clearing debris from alleys so the city’s clamshell trucks could navigate them to haul away trash.

Working closely with city officials

“We’re worked closely with the city here in Rowlett,” Henderson said. “We’ve had everyday communication with the mayor and city manager.”

After the storm hit, hundreds of volunteers from groups across the nation poured into the area, Henderson noted. Some were well-trained disaster relief workers who coordinated with local authorities, but others operated independently.

“It created a burden on the city,” he said. “For example, some came in quickly and started moving debris to the curbsides, not realizing they were piling it on top of fire hydrants.”

While TBM used individual volunteers and church groups who had not been trained in disaster relief, they worked in conjunction with trained personnel.

Jim Lawton from First Baptist Church in Waxahachie, who worked at the incident command center in Rowlett, pointed out TBM volunteers who served in Dallas County came from as far away as Amarillo to the northwest and Aransas Pass to the south.

Remember South Dallas/Ellis County

He also pointed out TBM not only served in the populous eastern Dallas County area, but also worked immediately after tornadoes hit more rural areas along the Dallas County/Ellis County line.

“The day after the storm, we had 600 people show up who wanted to volunteer” in the Ovilla area, he noted. “We sent 400 of them to Shield Elementary School in Red Oak.”

The volunteers packed up supplies and furniture they could recover from the damaged facility and moved them to an older unused school, so classes could resume at the new location after the winter break.

Disaster Recovery

In upcoming weeks and months, the Baptist General Convention of Texas will coordinate additional volunteer opportunities through Texas Baptists’ Disaster Recovery program, including at least two weeklong major efforts.

Soon, Texas Baptists’ Disaster Recovery will join the long-term recovery committees in Rowlett and Garland to develop plans, focusing specifically on assistance for uninsured or underinsured residents, said Marla Bearden, disaster recovery specialist with the BGCT.

How to help

  • For more information on volunteer opportunities, call (214) 537-7358.
  • To contribute to TBM disaster relief, click here or send a check designated “disaster relief” to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron, Dallas 75227.
  • To contribute to long-term recovery efforts, mail checks to Texas Baptists’ Disaster Recovery, 7557 Rambler Rd., Suite 1100, Dallas 75231-2310 or click here

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