Red Cross helps Arkansans during home fires

Red Cross helps Arkansans during home fires

Communications Director LITTLE ROCK — The week ending Dec. 17, the American Red Cross serving Arkansas responded to 12 calls for fire assistance, bringing the total number of fire responses for the month of December to 88, and counting.

A total of 304 individuals so far this month have received assistance from the Red Cross due to a home or apartment fire in Arkansas.

“With freezing temperatures comes the heightened potential for home fires,” said James Tittle, regional disaster officer for the Red Cross Serving Oklahoma and Arkansas. “We are already seeing a spike in the number of fires we respond to this month due to the extreme weather.” The families and individuals were provided with a place to stay, money for clothes, food and medicine. Along with providing casework for the residents in a quick and efficient time frame, Red Cross volunteers will continue to provide support to these families going forward, by doing follow up work to ensure all needs are met and the individuals have a clear path to recovery from this personal disaster.

There are several things people can do to protect themselves and their loved ones from fires. They include: • Installing smoke alarms on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Test them every month and replace the batteries at least once a year.

• Developing a fire evacuation plan with all members of the household and practicing it several times a year, at different times of the day.

• Include two ways to get out of every room and consider escape ladders for sleeping areas or homes on the second floor or above.

• Pick a place outside for everyone to meet and make sure everyone knows where it is.

• Removing any fire hazards from the home.

• Download the Red Cross First Aid App at redcross.org/apps to get access to life-saving info.

From Lori McFarlane