Red Cross volunteers respond to 22 fires in the past eek

Volunteer disaster responders with the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois responded to 22 fires from Monday, January 13 through today in the Chicago & Northern Illinois area in Harvey, Joliet, Palatine, Princeton, Rockford and more, with 16 of these fires occurring in Chicago including a fire in the 3000 block of W. 85th St. that sadly resulted in the loss of life.

Our volunteers provided assistance to 93 individuals, including 71 adults and 22 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.

Also, the Red Cross currently has a critical need for blood donors of all blood types, specially type O. Donors are urged to make an appointment to give now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Eco device.