No fire response last night!

Shocking. According to our disaster report, we did not provide assistance to any fire victims last night. Usually, our volunteers are out 3-4 times a day. Most fires happen between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. in the morning. That's when our volunteers are the busiest, when the rest of us are sleeping. Fires kill more people than all disasters combined.

Kids start a lot of fires. I should know.

When we were kids, my older brother locked himself in the bathroom to play with matches. He lit a towel up that hung on a rack. It lit up the wall paper. Then we saw smoke coming out from underneath the door. He wouldn't open the door because he was afraid of getting punished. Our babysitter promised he wouldn't. He got out. She put out the fire.

At 5 years of age, all I could think of was getting my big brother out of the bathroom.

I ask myself, how many of our families, from kids to parents know what to do or are ready to evacuate? And, whether you know or not, how do we really act when a fire threatens a loved one? Tell me your stories. I'd love to hear them.

-Maria Corral is director of the Marketing and Communications team at the chapter.