August 17, 2001
Apartment Building Fire Calls New Red Cross Volunteer To
Action
Springfield, MO-As WaKanda Sterling prepared her
breakfast, she made a mental list of things she wanted to
accomplish on a mid-August Friday morning. Pregnant, and due
to deliver in two weeks, WaKanda had spent a lot of time
preparing for the arrival of her little one and resting when
she could. Because she didn�t have to be at work until noon,
WaKanda was planning on a nice cool shower before walking
down the street to her job. Before she was able to eat
breakfast, a fire erupted in her 11-unit apartment building,
forcing WaKanda into the street. Outside she joined her
fianc�, Donnie Johnson, and Christopher Hammock, a friend
who shared the same apartment.
Outside, residents and pets from eight occupied apartments
anxiously waited as firefighter extinguished the flames from
their South National Avenue apartment building. Brand new
American Red Cross volunteer BJ Dye quickly greeted
evacuated residents. On her very first day of being the
disaster action team member on call, BJ stepped out the door
of her workplace to see what the commotion was about. What
she discovered was her very first opportunity to wear her
volunteer hat and provide immediate emergency assistance. A
quick call to the Greater Ozarks Chapter office summoned
John Appleton, the supervisor on-call, to walk BJ through
her first disaster response.
After calmly accounting for all residents, BJ offered drinks
and snacks to distraught disaster victims and firefighters.
�She was so nice,� commented one anonymous apartment
resident. �She just walked over here, saw the fire, and
started helping us.�
Anxious and frightened, WaKanda notified her boss of the
tragic situation and hoped for the best. After the fire was
extinguished, residents of six of the apartments were able
to return to their homes. The residents of one damaged
apartment were able to relocate to another apartment in the
same building. These residents are receiving American Red
Cross assistance in the form of emergency food and clothing
to meet their disaster-caused needs at this time.
WaKanda, Donnie and Christopher were provided temporary
accomodations at a local hotel, and clothing and meal
vouchers to get them through their first few homeless days.
Appreciative of the American Red Cross response, WaKanda
stated, �The Red Cross has been wonderful, they were here
helping us before the fire was put out. I don�t know where
we would go or what we would do without this help.�
Armed with the vouchers to obtain some replacement clothing,
meals, and the tools to search for a new home, WaKanda,
Donnie and Christopher breathed a little easier because they
knew they had a place to lay their heads come nightfall. Now
WaKanda has many tasks to accomplish before the arrival of
her child, but because the Red Cross there, her outlook is a
little brighter. She knows she can count on the American Red
Cross to help her get back on her feet.
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American Red Cross Disaster
Services join
firefighters in responding to an 11-unit
apartment fire on Friday, August 17th.
Firefighters extinguish a
hot spot
discovered on the second story of the
apartment building.
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