Red Cross Volunteers Respond to Four Local Disasters and Help 23 Displaced Residents in Span of 12 Hours
 

Red Cross volunteers were kept busy late Friday night, May 3, into early Saturday morning, May 4, responding to four fires leaving local families devastated and homeless.

It started late Friday night with a house fire in
Gig Harbor. Red Cross disaster volunteer, Angela Lindsay, was called out in the night to help a family of four (2 adults and 2 small children) displaced from their homes by the blaze.

At the same time, Red Cross volunteer Michaelle Fries in Winlock was called out to the scene of a mobile home fire in Centralia. The fire left one man injured and homeless. The Red Cross helped the individual with temporary housing, groceries, and clothing. Things many of us take for granted, but are so vital once you have lost everything.

Later that morning, Red Cross volunteers Pat Schell and Elwanda Bryant of Olympia was dispatched to a house fire in Tumwater involving a family of seven. The home was completely destroyed leaving the family with no where to live. The Red Cross provided emergency shelter and assistance for food and clothing. While it will not replace the memories and prized possessions lost in the fire, the family is grateful for the assistance which will help them transition from the disaster to the next stage of recovery.

When disaster strikes our community, the local Red Cross is your conduit of compassion -- the most direct link between people who want to help and people who need help in an emergency. You can help this family and hundreds of others affected by local disasters by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter. The most common disaster the local Red Cross chapter responds to is a house or apartment fire.

Your contribution enables the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. The Red Cross is not a government agency. Therefore, donations to the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter are even more critical to supporting local Red Cross programs and services in our community. The local Red Cross disaster relief and emergency services budget is dependant upon the contributions made by community members – individual donors, businesses, and foundations.

American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter is dedicated to helping local families and making our community safer. A volunteer-led humanitarian organization, the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter is touching lives in our community every day. The Red Cross assists a local family affected by a disaster almost every 48 hours in our community. Last year, your American Red Cross trained over 27,000 people in vital lifesaving skills, and provided over 4,545 local military families and service members with emergency communications, access to counseling, and community referrals.

May 4, 2008 / The News Tribune
Residents displaced when fire burns apartment complex

 

 For more information, contact the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter:

(253) 474-0400 Pierce County / (360) 352-8575 Thurston-Mason Counties

(360) 748-4607 Lewis County / (360) 241-2341 Grays Harbor Counties