Red Cross Asks For Assistance This Holiday Weekend
DETROIT (WWJ) - The Southeast Michigan Red Cross responded to a record number of fires this week and it's stretching them to their limits.
WWJ's Kathryn Larson reports the Red Cross team responded to 23 house fires in total, 14 of those since Monday.
Red Cross Disaster Relief Spokeswoman Allison Koenigbauer said this is double what they normally see and they are getting creative to make ends meet this Fourth of July holiday weekend.
"We have a pool of volunteers that are on schedule and on call 24 hours a day, and we want to make sure that we don;t stretch them too thin either. We have some extra people on call and we make sure that those folks have help," Koenigbauer said.
The Red Cross team of volunteers will be working in shifts over the holiday weekend, responding to families in need of food, clothing and shelter after their home is devastated by a fire.
"We have to shift some things around because this is what we do. You know, we're the experts on doing that, so we still had to make sure we have the resources in place to do it," Koenigbauer said.
The organization is asking for financial assistance to help them stay on top of local disasters. For information on ways you can help, visit www.semredcross.org.
