Oregon Trail Chapter Latest News

OREGON CITY, Ore. – July 22, 2006 – A family of four lost their home and possessions early today when a fire tore though their house. Clackamas County Fire dispatched 5 engines to the scene but was unable to save the structure, located on Boynton Street in Oregon City .

Two family service caseworkers from the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross arrived at the scene to offer assistance to the family at 5:30 a.m. The family was offered lodging, money for food and other necessities and counseling services. They accepted a Red Cross Client Assistance Card, which allows the purchase of food, clothing, toiletries, but declined to accept lodging, opting instead to stay with friends. Lodging will remain available through Red Cross while the family considers their options for a longer-term solution to their housing needs.

The fire was discovered by one of the residents, a teenage son of the property owners who awoke at 3:26 a.m. to the smell of smoke. He opened his bedroom door and was overwhelmed by a wall of smoke that forced him to retreat into the bedroom. The son courageously exited the burning home through a window and called to his parents and brother from outside to alert them of the fire. Each member of the family, including two dogs, managed to escape without injury, save for a cut on the son's hand sustained in his exit though the window that required several stitches. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The American Red Cross has helped people mobilize to help their neighbors for 125 years. Last year, victims of a record 72,883 disasters, most of them fires, turned to the nearly 1 million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross for help and hope. Through more than 800 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people each year gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world. Almost 4 million people give blood—the gift of life—through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of more than 180 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.

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American Red Cross, Oregon Trail volunteers respond to house fires every 32 hours on average.
To assist the Red Cross in providing disaster relief, please call (503) 528-5634.
To prepare yourself and your family for fire or other disasters, go to www.redcross-pdx.org