Red Cross volunteers respond to 24 fires in the past week

Volunteer disaster responders with the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois responded to 24 fires from Monday, January 6 through today in the Chicago & Northern Illinois area in Bolingbrook, Harvey, Lynwood, Joliet, Rockford and more, with 15 of these fires occurring in Chicago including two fires in the 100 block of S. Kilpatrick Ave. and the 5900 block of S. Union Ave. that sadly resulted in the loss of lives. This past Wednesday, our voluntees also assisted 18 families that were displaced by a fire at a three-story apartment complex in the 22300 block of Piccadilly Ct., in Richton Park, IL. The Red Cross provided assistance with temporary housing, health and mental health services to those impacted. In total, volunteers with the Red Cross helped 108 individuals, including 76 adults and 32 children with temporary housing, food, clothing and comfort kits with toiletry items, information about recovery services and health and mental health services.

The American Red Cross responds to 3 to 4 home fires every day in Chicago and Northern Illinois. The Red Cross recommends two easy steps to help protect your home and loved ones from a fire: get a smoke alarm and create a fire escape plan. The Red Cross installs FREE smoke alarms year-round. To schedule an appointment to get a free installation in your home, visit http://www.getasmokealarm.org.

In addition, on Wednesday, January 8, members of the Disaster Action Team provided support to over 90 first responders at the scene of a work incident in Grant Park, IL that sadly resulted in the loss of life. Red Cross volunteers provided food, drinks and hand/foot warmers to emergency personnel.