Fires Destroy More than Material Possessions

Just when Janet Clair thought things could not get worse, they did for her on Wednesday afternoon. She has just been laid off from her job and was struggling to care for her six children, when an accidental fire broke out in her home. Her youngest daughter got a hold of a lighter and set one of the bunk beds’ mattresses on fire. She was so scared that she shut the door and didn’t tell anyone. Janet and the two other siblings were taking a nap and awoke to smoke and fire alarms going off. By that time the house was so smoky all Janet could do was grab the kids and rush out the house.

What began as a relaxing day of rest turned into a day of misery, pain, and a nightmare for Janet and her household.

As a Red Cross intern arriving on the scene to my first fire, the house appeared fine from the outside. But to my surprise once I stepped inside that was not the case. A lot of the family members sitting on the couch had looks of disappointment on their faces about the damage the fire did to the house when we entered into the house. It was not until I begin to walk up the stairs that I inhaled the smell of smoke. The first floor of the house remained untouched by the fire, but the two rooms in the attic were destroyed. Holes in the room’s ceilings, shredded pieces of clothing on the floor, and both mattresses to the bunk beds were totally disintegrated.

Janet followed us into the room where the fire started and once the other Red Cross intern asked her a simple question, “How are you?” she broke out in tears explaining she that she didn’t know what her next move would be. That basic question is what triggered in my mind and heart what it means for a family to be a victim of a fire.

Fires have one sole purpose and that’s to burn and destroy. It does not decipher right from wrong, friend from foe, or loved ones from distant. I realized this fire not only destroyed the material possessions for this family, but it devastated their lives.

Janet and her family escaped the fire’s path but it left behind tears, pain, anger, and broken memories. This fire did not destroy everything for Janet, but it left her with a story to tell and more responsibilities to carry from that point on.

At that moment I began to think to myself money cannot buy everything it can only buy so much, but the soul is something money cannot fix permanently. However, the Red Cross appeared to Janet as her only saving hope for the future. Besides providing for her financially, the fact that we were there to listen showed Janet someone cares. That meant a lot to her more than I could ever understand.

Being there made me view Red Cross as a symbol of hope for the pain and misery that many face during a fire. Red Cross is seen as an outlet of hope for others to not just make it through that day but down the road.

Home Fires Destroy Memories Every 80 Seconds

The American Red Cross responds to fires more than any other disaster. More than hurricanes. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Fires occur in the United States every 80 seconds.

In Chicago, disaster volunteers are called to home fires about three to four times a day on a normal day. They arrive on scene oftentimes while firefighters are still there, and they provide families with food, shelter, infant formula, teddy bears for the kids, access to medication… whatever the family needs to survive.

This relief is almost entirely delivered by volunteers and funded by donors.

When we arrive, more often than not, we encounter families who are grateful. Though they may have lost everything, they say “thank goodness” that their loved ones survived.

“Everything else can be replaced,” they say.

When a family survives a fire without deaths or injuries, they usually first think of their pictures – the memories that can’t be replaced. One of my most striking memories as a disaster volunteer was helping this family wipe away smoke damage from baby photos that we were relieved to find intact.

With a single click, you can capture a memory with your camera and keep it forever, but only, if your home is not one of the 70,000 that will burn this year.

Today, in a single click and in a matter of moments, you can join a movement on Facebook to honor those who aren’t so lucky.

Visit http://every80seconds.com/and get a glimpse of what it’s like to lose your most precious memories. At the end of your visit, all of your photos will be fully recovered.

At some point in your life, though, someone close you will lose their photos forever to a real fire and will not be able to recover them. Be a part of their relief, before they need it.

Share the every80seconds.com experience with the people you love most.

Pledge a donation for every photo you can’t imagine life without.

Feel grateful.

Here's how your donation will help if you take the extra step to help a family that has been devestated by fire:

- $3 provides a comfort kit with hygiene items that preserves a client's diginity
- $6 provides a wool blanket to keep them warm if they are displaced
- $10 provides one meal
- $20 provides two meals
- $25 provides breakfast, lunch and dinner to a shelter resident who lost their home in a fire
- $50 provides five blankets for a family
- $75 provides food and shelter for a cleint for one day in a shelter
- $100 provides ten hot meals
- $150 provides supplies, such as soy formula, wipes, diapers, etc, to shelter one infant
- $200 provides one month's worth of emergency supplies for two families
- $1,000 saves the day - covers a day's worth of disaster response in the Greater Chicago region.

The every80seconds.com experience requires a high speed browser and internet connection, as well as Facebook connect permissions.

Blood, Sweat and Bears

Sixty seconds was all it took for the most anticipated football game in the Midwest to sell out. The Bears and the Packers face off for the 182nd time and are prepared to give it their all. The rivalry between the teams runs deep, so the fans are ready for an intense play-off game 60 years in the making. Already, Chicago is rallying to show our team that we are behind them 150%.

Even though I’m not a football fan, I find it difficult not to feel a sense of excitement and pride in knowing that the Bears are in the plays-offs. I cannot help but be swept away by the energy that radiates from football enthusiasts. The fervor is contagious and makes me want to join the Bears movement and become a die-hard fan.

As I get swept away in Bear fever, I realize that energy and enthusiasm drive us, but loyalty to Chicago binds us. Like Bears fever, the Red Cross of Greater Chicago is a movement that uplifts, unites and inspires Chicagoans. Our disaster volunteers unite to provide aid and support to those in need. We find that there is a joy in having the ability to help someone in need. The joy and energy we experience when serving others drives our donors, staff and volunteers to deepen their loyalty to our movement.

The Bears will leave their sweat and blood on the field on Sunday. Are you ready for that kind of die-hard loyalty? Bear down, and become a volunteer.

By Erica Serna

Have you changed your smoke detector batteries?

Did you know that the American Red Cross responded to more than 74,000 disasters in communities across the United States last year, and 93 percent of these were fire related? It is no different here in Chicagoland; in 2007 the Greater Chicago chapter responded to 1,200 local disasters and 90% of those were residential fires.

But, preventing home fires doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment or training, and the American Red Cross is here to help! Join our battle fighting fires with the Team Firestopper program, and help stop a fire from sparking in your own home.

How you may ask?!? Start by taking a look at your smoke alarms!

• Place a smoke alarm on every level of your home and outside sleeping areas.


• Smoke alarms should be tested monthly and batteries replaced yearly, or as soon as you hear a low-battery warning which usually sounds like a "chirping" noise.


• Teach children what the smoke alarm sounds like and what to do when they hear it.


• And, smoke alarms wear out, so remember to replace your smoke alarm every 10 years!

Want more tips about how to be fire safe? Check out our website at www.chicagoredcross.org/tfs!

Why I volunteer

I couldn't be happier to be serving my community under the banner of the American Red Cross. As a resource development intern, I know that I'm supporting an organization that provides life-changing services to people who need it most, and as a Disaster Action Team volunteer I can see the mission of the Red Cross being fulfilled in the smiles of those whom we have served after a local disaster has occurred.

A passion for humanitarian services has been welling up inside of me ever since I began to know the homeless community in my hometown, Downers Grove. Working at a local coffee shop I witnessed the toilsome and nomadic lifestyle of these destitute people and began to build relationships with them. When I learned of the many circumstances and conditions that can lead to such a life, I developed a strong compassion for those who are in need of support from the community.

That’s why I volunteered to serve at the Red Cross of Greater Chicago. When a family is forced out of their home because of a flood, fire, or any other disaster, the next few days/weeks of their lives will determine how extensive the effect of their displacement will be. That’s where the Red Cross comes to the rescue. We provide food, shelter, clothing, medical and emotional support, and much more for our neighbors when they need it most. And we couldn’t do it without the financial support of our donors, who give generously even in this challenging economic climate. Thank you to all those who support our humanitarian mission, your donations of time and money have a major impact on the well-being of our community.

To become a volunteer or to make a donation to the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, please visit our web site

George J Hofmann II
Development Operations Intern, Disaster Action Team Volunteer.

Thanksgiving for the Red Cross

Yes! We should all be thankful for the Red Cross--just like fire fighters, we are rescuing people all the time. Yes, we rescue them from facing nowhere to lie down in safety after a fire or any other disaster, small and large. We just don't stop, ever.

Why am I thankful, personally?

After my first house fire, I stood alongside a family in the frigid night, all and kids in pajamas, helpless as their second story apartment smoldered. They lost everything, but their skins. There were hundreds more over the years. I went to wildfires where only the nails remained. To hurricanes where families continued to live in the smashed up hulls of their trailer homes. And what have I learned? Don't fuss over what you have, care about what you give.

It's the little ways in which I've changed which mean big things in my life. I went through four years living in San Francisco with three pieces of furniture. When I moved back to Chicago, my parents felt sorry for me and donated some of theirs. I never missed the furniture. It really doesn't matter. Through my Red Cross lens, I saw this all being gone in an instant.

Tomorrow and always, I give thanks for the privilege I have to help other people every day. And to know that my life is richer because of the Red Cross, even though, I'm back to having no furniture:)