Editors note: Christine Balestra is a Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteer in Tompkins County, and shared her story of a pre COVID-19 fire response:
I
was dispatched with the rest of my DAT team around 3 a.m. on October 22, 2019
to an apartment complex for a multiple unit fire response. We arrived on the
scene while it was still active and it was somewhat chaotic. There were
fire departments from multiple agencies fighting the blaze, and one of the
agencies allowed us to use their extra fire truck to interview
clients. All 10 or so of the affected
apartment units in the building were deemed unlivable.
All residents were accounted for by the fire chief when we arrived, but since it was
the middle of the night, two families left the scene
as we arrived (more on that below) and most people were in pajamas and
didn't have much with them. The people in the truck were visibly shaken,
scared and tired, but one resident made sure as many of her neighbors as possible
stayed in the truck to get interviewed.
My
team of four broke into teams of two to interview and provide client
assistance. One by one, they told us their stories - some hearing a
"pop" sound and thinking it might be the wind; some smelling smoke
and realizing that the fire was in the main hallway that connected all of the
first floor units (all of the front doors faced the hallways). Residents on
the first floor fled through the back sliding doors onto their back patio and
screamed for their neighbors to get out. They then helped their second
floor neighbors and their children jump from balconies to safety. Everyone
got out and everyone survived, albeit some with injuries. There were two
cats - one was accounted for that night and another ended up at Cornell's
Veterinary hospital (I think she ended up ok).
None
of the people I interviewed knew about Red Cross assistance, so they were all
extremely grateful when we explained the assistance available to them. To
coordinate shelter for the group, one of the residents contacted a hotel that was
located within walking distance from the fire - and the hotel offered to house
the clients for free for the night. Most of the families ended up at the
hotel.
That
night, we provided blankets, comfort kits, Mickey's and assistance cards to 8
families. One of my team mates also literally
gave a victim the shoes he was wearing because that person ran out of his unit
without putting shoes on. This man was more concerned about getting
his kitty companion out of the apartment (calmest cat I ever encountered - he
sat quietly in the client's lap as I filled out paperwork).
Two
families left the scene immediately before we arrived at the fire. One sought
shelter at a local church that night; the other ended up at the hotel with the
rest of the group later that morning. So another team member and I followed up
with these residents the next evening. Both families were from another
country and English was their second language. One family was so grateful
that they wanted to take pictures of my team mate and I to remember us
by. They also gave us hugs.
On
a personal level, this DAT call was very rewarding for me. Although it
was a lot of people to serve at 3 in the morning, the level of service we could
provide and the appreciation we received made it all worth it. Some of
these people lost everything they had and it made me feel like we helped them
when they most needed it.
If you'd like to feel the same satisfaction from helping your community, start your Red Cross story at www.redcross.org/volunteer. You can also make a financial gift to help make our mission possible at www.redcross.org/donate.
