At least 500 volunteers from across the country are expected to descend on Tampa.
Dr. Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, shows some of the possible trajectories Tropical Storm Isaac could develop in the coming days, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. As of 11:00 a.m., Tropical Storm Isaac's location was 15.9 degrees north, 59.3 degrees west, about 140 miles east of Guadeloupe, maximum sustained winds 45 mph, present movement west or 280 degrees at 21 mph. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)SPRINGFIELD — Two Western Massachusetts residents who've dedicated years to volunteering for the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross will be leaving the state Friday to join up with hundreds of others in Tampa, Fla., to prepare for Tropical Storm Isaac, now churning through the Caribbean and moving toward the Sunshine State.
"We commonly do this [send people out of the area]," said Rick Lee, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Chapter, adding that the chapter has sent volunteers to every U.S. disaster since 9-11.
Disaster relief is a "tag-team sport," he said.
"We are identifying available shelters in Florida, assembling disaster teams, and coordinating with government and community partners like the Southern Baptist Convention and NAACP," the relief organization said Thursday in a statement.
At least 500 volunteers from across the country are expected to descend on Tampa. It's being done "to ensure that the Red Cross is ready to help if the need arises," the organization said.
U.S. forecasters say Isaac could become a Category 1 hurricane Friday as it approaches the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It's expected to weaken a little while crossing over Haiti and the eastern two-thirds of Cuba.
The storm was projected to head toward Florida as a hurricane by Monday, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said some forecast models predict it could go farther west into the Gulf of Mexico, so "significant uncertainty remains about the threat Isaac poses to Florida."
Those making the trip to Tampa include Don Cawrse of Easthampton, who has worked his way up the volunteer hierarchy since starting with the organization in 2009, said Dawn Leaks, regional director of communications for the Red Cross of Central and Western Massachusetts.
Cawrse, who's retired, will serve as a shelter manager, supervising the intake of people, making sure other volunteers are doing their jobs correctly, ensuring that people with disabilities are cared for properly and that food and water are available.
"He's going to bring those skills back to us," Leaks said.
The second local volunteer headed south is Angela Orlich of West Springfield, who has been with the Red Cross since 2004 and is no stranger to being deployed far from home. Leaks said Orlich traveled to the Gulf during Hurricane Katrina.
In Florida, she will serve as a shelter worker, interacting directly with those in need. Orlich works part-time and also attends nursing school, Leaks said.
This will be Cawrse's first deployment out of the region.
Volunteers from two other chapters of the regional Red Cross – Berkshire County and Central Mass. – also are joining Orlich and Cawrse on the trip.
Tom Pfeiffer of Pittsfield, who started as a volunteer in Springfield, also will be serving as a shelter manager. He is one of the few paid Red Cross staff members, working as the director of disaster services for the Berkshire County Chapter. The ratio of volunteers to paid staff is 35 to 1, Lee said.
Dorothy Murray of the Central Mass. Chapter will be serving as a shelter worker.
The volunteers' deployments could last three weeks.
Associated Press content was used in this report.