Red Cross volunteers help Miami woman affected by fire

I just left the scene of a fire where the Red Cross Disaster Action Team was helping a Miami woman who pretty much lost everything Tuesday night.

She was telling me how she was trying to rush back home to meet her husband because they were waiting for some paperwork that needed to be signed right away. As the day passed, she tried calling her husband but couldn't reach him. Got voicemail every time.

When she rounded the corner to get to her apartment building, fire trucks lined the street and a neighbor broke the bad news: Her apartment caught fire. Her two dogs died. Her husband was being taken to the hospital.

Red Cross volunteers Pauline Holmes (left) and Cherlynette Evans (right) provide assistance to a Miami woman who lost her belongings and her pets in a fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing outside her apartment building today, you could see that this fire is not something this woman will soon forget.

It's never easy losing your belongings. Especially not the books she and her husband treasured. Or the dog that's been a part of your life for eight years and just had her first litter of puppies.

But that's why the Red Cross is there. Disaster Action Team Leader Cherlynette Evans and DAT Trainee Pauline Holmes were able to provide the woman with help for food, clothing and lodging. They can't possibly take away all the pain, but they do make things better.

-Chrystian Tejedor

American Red Cross

You can help people affected by local disasters like this fire or national disasters by clicking here to donate or clicking here to become a Red Cross volunteer.