Dave Sossaman Answers the Call to Hurricane Disaster

Dave Sossaman, daughter Cassidy Sossaman and friend Kristyn Paine with rescued pup. Photo By Jennifer Jenkin

By Ruth Lepper

After the terrorist attack on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Ramona resident Dave Sossaman felt compelled to offer his help wherever it would be needed.

A retired police officer, Sossaman knew his background in law enforcement and security procedures would be useful in such situations. He signed on with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was assigned to a disaster medical assistance team from Orange County that was lookingfor a physical security specialist to protect medical teams responding to disasters.

It was after the 9/11 disaster and Sossaman thought, at that time, that there might not be any more disasters requiring his help. That wasn’t the case. He was sent to Iraq on two separate occasions in 2003 and 2004 as a security specialist with the U.S. Department of Defense.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast states in late August, Sossaman and his team were called out by Homeland Security. He spent two weeks in Biloxi, Miss., providing security for his unit.

There were 30 people on the medical team, including doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants and paramedics, along with support staff, who were flown to Memphis, Tenn. There, they waited three days for the trucks bringing supplies from California.

“It was 98 degrees and 100 percent humidity,” Sossaman said of their stay in Memphis. “There was no water except the water we brought with us.”

The team was sent to a high school in Biloxi, where temporary emergency quarters had been set up in the gymnasium but no doctors were available to care for the injured. Sossaman said as many as 500 patients lay on the gymnasium floor when his team arrived, waiting for medical care. The team went to work, “clearing that floor out in 24 hours,” Sossaman said.

As those patients improved enough to be able to leave the high school, more arrived. The severely ill or injured were transferred to hospitals; minor surgeries were performed in a makeshift operating room.

During their stay in Biloxi, the team members used vehicles supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That caused some confusion with the local residents, many of whom thought Sossaman’s team was from FEMA and was there to distribute relief checks, he said.

Some local residents wanted more than checks. Several attempts were made to steal drugs kept in locked storage containers in the pharmacy of the emergency quarters, he said. It was not unusual for the medical personnel to receive threats to their lives, some accompanied by gunshots.

Long hours were required of all the team members. Sossaman’s shifts often lasted 20 hours. He would sleep on a cot in one of the schoolrooms for a few hours, usually after 2 or 3 a.m.

While his main job was to provide security, Sossaman also took charge of coordinating volunteers who were showing up to help. He assigned tasks where they were needed and kept the volunteers busy. He was impressed with a family of five from Iowa that “just showed up and asked what they could do to help,” he said.

He also was impressed with a puppy rescued from an attic — so impressed, he brought the pup back to Ramona.

If Sossaman’s team should be called back, he’s willing to return to Mississippi. In the meantime, he is involved with ongoing investigations by state and federal authorities that resulted from incidents that occurred while he was in Mississippi. Some he can talk about; others are confidential.

One incident involved a woman from Florida who said she had been sent from the American Red Cross in Atlanta, Ga., to take over running the disaster operations in Biloxi. Sossaman, who suspected the woman was not what she represented herself to be, contacted Red Cross headquarters and confirmed his suspicions.

He detained the woman and a man who was with her, until authorities could be called to deal with the situation.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina from Aug. 23-31 covered 90,000 square miles. The aftermath of the hurricane, plus the flooding that occurred, was described by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as “probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes,” in the country’s history.

Sossaman has lived in Ramona for 12 years with his wife and daughter. He retired in 1986 from National City Police Department on a medical disability.

He started a security business, Ripco, in April 2004, working out of his home office to contract for specialized security, anti-terrorist training and investigation services.