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“The community—their neighbors, church, the contractor of the house—showed immediate and vital concern and offered tremendous assistance” said Red Cross Disaster Action Team leader Kate Gray.

CANBY, Ore. – July 24, 2006 – After fire completely destroyed a home in Canby, six American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter volunteers provided immediate assistance to the six adults who escaped safely from the blaze thanks to a working smoke alarm.

The Canby Fire District responded to the two-alarm fire early this morning. Red Cross volunteers were called to respond at 6:45 a.m. and were on the scene helping the family approximately thirty minutes later. At 10:30 a.m. , the volunteers (who included a Health Services volunteer and a Disaster Mental Health volunteer) were still at the scene of the fire, assisting the family.

Those in the home at the time of the fire included the homeowner's son, a wheelchair user, and visiting family that included a 90-year-old mother, sister, and sister in law. The Oregon Trail Chapter provided financial assistance for clothing, meals, and an immediate stay at a nearby motel so the family could take shelter from the oppressive summer heat.

Nothing in the house was salvageable, including the specialized medical equipment that was used by the homeowner's son. The Red Cross Health Services volunteer was on hand to assist and contacted the physicians of the visiting families to replace their eyeglasses and prescription medicines.

The Oregon Trail Chapter is currently supporting other families in the aftermath of two other recent home fires: In Oregon City, the Red Cross assisted two adults and two children with food and clothing, and two adults and one child were provided with financial assistance for food, seven nights in a motel, and other necessities.

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