by Anita Foster from Red Alert
Big Tex, the 60 year-old cowboy who towers above everything at the State Fair of Texas, is as much a part of the iconic Dallas, Texas landscape as J.R. Ewing and the Dallas Cowboys. To see him burn was a shock to fair-goers, television viewers and Twitter addicts. People felt helpless to do anything to save Big Tex. When the fire was out, all that remained were memories of better days.
At the Red Cross, we’ve talked a lot about the Big-Tex fire because the reaction of people mirrors what real victims of disaster experience every day. Your “breaking news” happens when a neighbor or your local fire department calls to tell you your home is on fire. You rush to get there.
Just as the crowd assembled at the base of Big Tex to watch the devastation unfold, your neighbors will do the same. They’ll desperately want to help save your home, but there’s nothing anyone can do so they’ll shoot some photos with a smart phone and post to their Facebook page. Firefighters will fight the blaze with all they have…
