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Helping hands aid fire victims
American Red Cross offers comfort, support at fire scenes
As Michael Perri watched his house burn early one morning last year, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
The Greece resident turned around and saw a volunteer from the Rochester chapter of the American Red Cross offering him a blanket.
Although almost everything he owned was disappearing before his eyes, Perri was surprised that the nonprofit organization was there to help him.
"My first thought was, 'No, save it for the people that really need it,'" he said. "When I think of the Red Cross, I picture the people who go to places like New Orleans. Then I remembered, my checkbook and debit card were in my house."
So Perri followed the volunteer into the back of a van, accepting support from an often overlooked piece of the Rochester area's social safety net.
Perri's insurance company eventually stepped in and provided the things he needed to function while his house is being repaired. But it was the Red Cross that got him through those first few days after the fire by providing a hotel room and money to buy clothes and other essentials.
Assisting victims of structure fires is one of the primary services offered by every Red Cross chapter in America, said Leighton Jones, director of disaster services for the Rochester chapter.
"It's the majority of what we do in the disaster-services department," he said. "We don't live in an area where there are a lot of natural disasters. But house fires happen every day."
Jones said his volunteers, who are each on call for at least three hours a week, respond to about 350 events a year. Most of those are structure fires in the city. Using money raised from donors, the charity distributes about $200,000 a year to the survivors of these fires, he said.
Along with money for food, clothing and shelter, the Red Cross also provides instructions for such things as applying for a new driver's license and credit card or finding mental-health counselors to deal with their trauma.
"House fires don't get on the news as easily as natural disasters, but for someone who loses everything, it can be just as devastating," Jones said.
Rochester Fire Department Deputy Chief John Caufield said the Red Cross provides an invaluable service at fire scenes.
"It's tough enough to explain to someone they just lost everything they own," he said. "But at least we can say the Red Cross is on its way and you'll have a place where you can stay tonight. I don't know what we'd do if we couldn't say that."
Like Perri, many survivors of house fires still haven't realized they have no idea what they're supposed to do in the immediate aftermath of the fire, when a Red Cross volunteer shows up and offers to help them take that next step.
"I went to Wal-Mart and bought those things you take for granted, like socks," he said. "I'll always be grateful to the Red Cross. The next time I get their letter asking for a donation, I'm writing a check."
DemocratandChronicle.com
Patrick Flanigan, Staff writer
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