In Case You Missed It - Jan 12

Firefighters respond to a Mount Kisco house fire on Spring Street. Photo Credit: Eric Hartmann

Over the last seven days, the Greater New York Red Cross provided emergency assistance to 157 adults and 46 children following 67 local disasters. Here are some highlights of our responses and other activities from the last week:

• At 5 A.M. on Saturday, the Red Cross responded to a house fire that broke out in Mount Kisco. The Red Cross was able to provide the displaced family that included four children, with emergency housing and financial assistance for food, diapers and transportation.
• Friday evening, a blaze tore through the fifth and sixth floors of a Bronx apartment building. The Red Cross assisted dozens of those residents in frigid temperatures with comfort and support. Seven families were provided with emergency housing.
• On Thursday, The New York Times published a great article about the lasting impact of home fires. Friday, we posted a follow-up to this piece on our blog with a different perspective.
• On Wednesday, four Greenpoint families in Brooklyn were left homeless by a fire that raged through their apartment building. None of the families required housing, but the Red Cross was able to provide emergency funds to three of the families.
• Due to the extremely cold weather, the Red Cross worked closely with Yonkers OEM to ensure a shelter would be open for those who might need it.
• In the middle of the week, some Red Cross volunteers in Metro New York North were brought up to speed on the latest in Disaster Services training.
• Earlier in the week, the Red Cross urged New Yorkers to be safe amid the cold front with some cold weather safety tips. Our Communications Officers spoke to Fios1 and 1010WINS on the dangers of extreme cold and the importance of having a plan.
• Earlier in the week, in the span of less than 24 hours, Red Cross responders from Metro New York North responded to a rash of four fires throughout the region—assisting a total of thirteen families (24 adults, three children and an infant). Three of those fires—in Haverstraw, Yonkers and Mount Vernon—were reported by lohud.com.

Thank you to the American Red Cross for their support the past few days #shelter @Csher999 @redcrossny @RedCrossMetroN @RedCross @kellymnyc
— Yonkers OEM (@YonkersOEM1) January 9, 2015