For fire victims, Red Cross volunteers often play a pivotal role in recovery process
CHICAGO (CBS) -- From supplying hospitals with blood to teaching lifesaving skills and helping those who lose their homes in fires and other disasters, the Red Cross is pivotal in our community.
Ashley Metcalfe saw the generosity of Red Cross volunteers first-hand after a devastating fire.
It was a life-changing moment she will never forget.
She and her fiancé, Arnold Conwell, experienced a nightmare that no one should endure, a home fire that left them without their possessions and a place to call home.
"Everything in there, destroyed," she said.
On Jan. 19, Metcalfe and Conwell were asleep and were woken up by firefighters knocking on their door.
"I got up, and as soon as I sat up, my first reaction was, 'Oh my God.' So then I ran out to where our front door is, and I could hear my neighbor, 'You gotta come out. It's a fire. You gotta come out. It's a fire,'" Metcalfe said.
Luckily, her three children were spending the night with her sister.
"I think I even ran to the kids' room, forgetting that they weren't there," she said.
When they stepped outside with the other neighbors, watching the firefighters battle the flames that had started in the house next to theirs, they saw how close the flames were, which prompted firefighters to hose down their place.
It's been more than 10 months since their lives have been turned upside down. The house where the fire started is no longer there, just an empty lot.
Metcalfe said they could literally feel the heat coming from flames next door.
"I think that that was probably the worst thing that we've ever gone through, and to know that Red Cross was willing to do something," she said.
The aftermath left Metcalfe's family grappling with the emotional and financial toll of their loss.
They reached out to multiple emergency services seeking assistance, but American Red Cross was the only organization that stepped up and helped them when they needed it the most.
"The Red Cross just cared so much about our situation. They cared about the recovery, and they knew that it wasn't just a financial thing that we had to recover from. It's a mental space, it's a health, it's big," Metcalfe said.
Volunteers helped the family get a hotel room for the night, as well as essential needs, such as gas for their car.