ORANGEBURG, NY–  DHS Technologies LLC, parent company for DHS Systems LLC, and manufacturer of the patented Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter (DRASH) and Reeves EMS equipment, today announced that it has fielded several MX and XB shelters along with several fuel fired heaters (D-1000B) to the Japanese Red Cross Society in cooperation with Toyo Bussan, a partner company based in Japan, to support recovery efforts following the tsunami earlier this month that ravaged much of the country.

 “The people of Japan have been greatly affected by this disaster. Our shelter systems are a key component to providing the Japanese Red Cross Society with the infrastructure they need to help with stabilization efforts and serve as facilities to provide direct relief to people suffering in affected areas,” says Jeff Jackson, Vice President of Business Development for DHS Technologies.

 Part of the U.S. Army’s Standard Integrated Command Post System (SICPS), the patented Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter, or DRASH, is a mobile, quick-erect/strike shelter system that integrates shelter, mobility, lighting, heating, cooling and power distribution in a total system solution. DHS shelters are built tough and can operate in all climates from the Arctic to the Sahara Desert. There are more than 7,500 shelters in service with the United States Military, NATO, allied forces and first-responders around the globe.

 “This is not a traditional shelter by any means,” says Marcel Branis, Vice President of Manufacturing for DHS Technologies. “The shelters of the past simply are no longer practical to meet today’s challenges. DHS designs and manufactures a modern system constructed of the highest-quality synthetic fabric and space age composites, the key being its patented design that enables the shelters to be quickly erected alleviating a lot of the problems of the past. The DRASH system features a unique one-piece structural frame that provides a clear, open-span, with no interference from support poles providing a larger footprint of usable workspace.  The unique design allows the newer shelters to be quickly deployed enabling the Japanese Red Cross Society relief workers to focus on their true mission…bringing much needed relief directly to the people.”

 DRASH systems are extremely versatile and can be utilized for a variety of purposes– from a command and control center, it can easily be converted into a 100-bed medical surge facility, a triage unit as it is being used at the Ishinomaki Hospital in Japan by the Red Cross Society, a decontamination facility, a billet or a school. All 64 DRASH shelter models interconnect allowing facilities to grow or contract in size based on the conditions on the ground. Combined shelters may create complexes ranging in size from 33 square feet to 15,000 square feet or more. Minimum staffing can quickly erect or disassemble the shelters in a matter of minutes rather than hours and days without any special tools and minimal site preparation.

DHS Systems has a long history of providing shelter solutions for humanitarian relief efforts throughout the world. Most recently, DRASH shelter systems have been deployed to support relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake in January 2010, as well as in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro after massive flooding destroyed thousands of homes across the region late last year. DHS Systems also fielded numerous shelters to help with the relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina.