International Association of Arson Investigators
NC IAAI Help Contact Options:
Email: nciaaihelps@nciaai.com
Phone: 704-565-0190
To our membership,
This past week we have experienced a tragedy of biblical proportions. Hurricane Helene broadsided our state and has profoundly impacted us all. Some members have lost loved ones while others have lost homes and a lifetime of cherished items. Others have answered the call for help and left their families to take care of fellow North Carolinians. This is not a shock to any of us because it exemplifies why we do the job: we run toward, not away.
In the face of this devastation, I have received numerous inquiries asking how the Chapter can help. The key is helping in a smart capacity. We need to do what we are capable of, and we don’t want to either duplicate or interfere with any assistance that is already in progress. Your Executive Officers and Board of Directors have crafted an assistance program that we feel bests aids our members. This assistance stems from the concept that many of us already embrace; neighbor helping neighbor.
Listed below are an email address and telephone number created to specifically receive requests for help from our membership. We encourage any of our membership in need to contact either of these notification portals. Obviously, for those in WNC, there’s only so much we can do because of accessibility and magnitude. However, even though we may not physically be able to handle the request, we can pass it along to those deployed in those areas to try and help. We also don’t want our help to be confined to WNC. We also want to care for those that are taking care of others. We all know people that have been deployed and had to leave family and homes behind. We want to make sure their home fronts are being looked after as well.
Director Patrick Barker has volunteered to coordinate these efforts and we have assembled a team of members from across the state to assist him. As requests come in, Membership Director Geoff Woolard will push these out for action. The requests could be anything from a simple welfare check to debris clearing. Regardless of what is requested, we are committed to doing everything in our power to help. To our members that are available, we will lean on you and may reach out if someone is in your area needs assistance. I have full confidence that you will be ready to answer that call.
We have other things in the works as well that I will share as they come to fruition. Our commitment to our neighbors in our most horrid times demonstrates our steadfastness.
Recovery will be lengthy, but our resolve remains strong. Take care of each other, take care of your family, and take care of yourself. You all are in our prayers, today and every day forward.
Respectfully,
Darren Solomon NC-IAAI President
