Red Cross Responds to Three Fires in Less Than 10 Hours
17 Heartland Chapter volunteers assist 65 people after last night’s fires
Last night was a busy one for volunteers and staff at the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross as they responded three fires in the Omaha metro in less than 10 hours.
The night started as a celebration of Red Cross Month with volunteers and staff gathering at the Civic Auditorium for Red Cross Night with Omaha Beef Football. As the fires started many of the volunteers and staff that were there to help raise money for Red Cross disasters were called to help with Omaha’s number one disaster- apartment and house fires.
The first of the three fires started around 5:00 p.m. and was at an apartment complex on 33rd and Webster. Twelve units were damaged leaving more than 25 people displaced. The Heartland Chapter had a team of 13 volunteers and staff members there to help the families in need. Food, clothing, comfort and care were provided along with a bilingual interpreter. Six of the families also received emergency lodging.
The second fire of the evening started around 11:00 p.m. in Louisville, Neb. The single-family house fire also left a family of six displaced. The Heartland Chapter had a team of seven there to assist this family with their immediate needs of food, clothing, and emergency lodging. Six of the volunteers came almost directly from the previous fire to help out.
And just when Red Cross volunteers and staff thought that the night of fires was over they received a call around 1:45 a.m. that there was yet another 12-unit apartment fire in Bellevue at the Britain Towne Apartments. Thirty-four residents were displaced and also were assisted with emergency needs based on the damage to their apartments. A team of seven volunteers, four of whom were also at one or both of the previous fires, were there to make sure that the 12 displaced families also had their emergency needs met.
The Heartland Chapter’s Disaster Action Team are volunteers who respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the emergency needs of our community. The Red Cross is grateful for the gifts for the time, talents and money that make this possible. The Heartland Chapter would also like to thank the Loess Hills Chapter of the American Red Cross for letting them borrow their Emergency Response Vehicle to be able to respond to all of last night’s fires.
The Red Cross depends on the generous support of Omaha metro residents to respond to our neighbors who are affected by home fires. You can help the Red Cross continue to be ready to respond and help fire victims by making a financial contribution to Heartland Chapter today. To make a financial donation, visit www.redcrossomaha.org, call 402.343.7700, or mail a check to 2912 S. 80th Ave, Omaha, NE 68124.
Click here to see an awesome story KETV-ABC did featuring shots of our Disaster Action Team volunteers on the scene this Friday. You can also read a story about our busy weekend here on the Omaha World-Herald website.
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