Ellis County American Red Cross volunteer Pete Peterson gets final instructions from Hays Service Center Manager Meagan Carver Thursday afternoon as the ERV deploys to Middletown, NY, site of the ARC staging area for Hurricane Irene.

Peterson will meet a Wichita teammate in Salina and arrive in New York Monday. The Red Cross is preparing for flood victims along the East Coast.

This is the second time the Ellis County Emergency Response Vehicle has been deployed.