Alicia Rios, her husband, Miguel Ortiz, and
their two daughters, Diana Rios, 16 and Felicia Rios, 14, were recently burned
out of their Bronx apartment. They were grateful the Red Cross was there to help.
The night of the fire, the family members were
all asleep. Feeling unusually warm, Miguel awoke around 1 am. He told Alicia he
thought he smelled bread toasting; to her it smelled more like fire.
Miguel went upstairs and found smoke coming
through the apartment door above. The family ran outside to safety—just before
their living room ceiling collapsed in smoke and flame.
“It was a miracle we got out, but it was so sad,”
said Alicia. “Even though we did not get hurt, we saw pictures of our family go
down with the fire. We lost everything.”
They had moved into the apartment only a month earlier.
Red Cross disaster responders met with the family
at the scene. After making sure that Alicia, who has a heart condition, was not
in need of medical assistance, they arranged for temporary housing for the
family at a hotel, and drove them there.
Alicia, Miguel and the girls came to Red Cross headquarters days later, where they received financial assistance for food assistance and referrals for long term housing.
"The Red Cross came and they were so
friendly and supportive,” said Alicia. "The responders really helped with
a smile. They helped a lot and are still helping."
These people are old friends that I have been trying to look for, for over 2-3 years and now that I have found them it's sad to hear what has happened to them.
ReplyDeleteIf any one can help me out with their whereabouts now I will deeply appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteHi William, if you are looking for family members lost due to war or disasters, the Red Cross might be able to help you. You'd have to get in touch with your local Red Cross chapter to start a case.
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