PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Bruce Hearns of West Oak Lane is grateful to be alive.
“Certain things we can get back. Our lives, we can’t get back,” he said. “We’re grateful that it was materialistic and not something that was forever-lasting.”
His neighbor’s house caught on fire and spread over to his last week. At the scene of the blaze, an officer told him about Red Cross House’s resources, including temporary housing as well as recovery, spiritual and financial support.
Shortly thereafter, Hearns and five other family members moved into Red Cross House in University City.
People in need of temporary housing, whether due to fires, building collapses or floods, are constantly filtering in and out. Red Cross spokesperson Dave Skutnik said the number of people needing their help fluctuates week by week.
“We’ve had in the past over 100 people here all at the same time,” he said. “It can get very busy. Right now, we don’t have that number, and that’s a good thing.”
Since January, the Red Cross has helped, in some capacity, with 185 fires in Philadelphia and provided some type of assistance to nearly 800 people. Skutnik said they’ve seen an uptick in fires since the start of the pandemic.
“As people were spending more time at home, we were seeing more of those home-cooking fires that started and left people without a place to go,” he explained.
Last month, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel called the uptick in the city a “fire problem.”
On April 24, a fire broke out early in the morning at a residential house in Kensington, killing a father and his three children. Their mother survived by jumping out a second-story window.
Fire officials said the home did not have working smoke alarms. Since January, officials have installed more than 4,000 smoke alarms around the city, yet they’re still responding to house fires with none working.
Related
Red Cross House has been following COVID-19 protocols and limiting space, but of its 26 rooms, the house hasn’t yet reached full capacity.
“Our family definitely appreciates them,” added Hearns. “Red Cross gives a little bit of time just to get yourself together.
“As far as with the experience, it can definitely be traumatizing on anyone. But never the less, Red Cross is the best.”