By Kathy Thompson

Fairfax, Va. (March 13, 2009) – One year ago today, the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area responded to a massive, five-alarm fire that destroyed an entire apartment building in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Northwest D.C., displacing more than 200 families from their homes. During the tragic incident, the local Red Cross provided care and support to the community, and today, continues to offer encouragement as residents remember the devastation they experienced one year ago. Below are a few stories of residents we served during that disaster.

Stories from Mount Pleasant Fire, March 13, 2008 

From Kathy (Chapter staff and volunteer)
I worked with a tiny, beautiful African American young lady in her early 20s. Sitting quietly at the table where the Red Cross was helping families, she was wearing jeans, a tee shirt and a baseball cap. I have been thinking about her particularly because she recounted her story so calmly, but she seemed so alone in the drama. She was very composed and articulate as she spoke, despite the fact she looked so incredibly tired.

She said she awoke to a ruckus in the hallway. She thought it was the kids next door playing in the halls, which they often do. She then smelled smoke and realized this was a real fire. She called 911, and they told her there was a fire and she should get out of the apartment immediately. She went to the door, opened it and found the hallway was so full of smoke she couldn’t get out. She closed the door, put a wet towel against the bottom of it, and called 911 again. They asked her what unit she was in. When she told them, the dispatcher said, “Hold on.” She came back and said, “The fire is in the unit right below you. Stay right where you are. The firemen will come get you.” She told the dispatcher she couldn’t stay. The apartment was filling up with smoke. The 911 dispatcher told her to stay. She then broke out a window so she could breathe and so the firemen could see where she was. They were able to get the ladder to her window where they carried her to safety. She said she was the last one out of the building. While she started to tear up a little bit toward the end of the story, her composure and fast thinking amazed me.  

From Joe (Multi-Lingual Volunteer)
Joe worked with a Vietnamese mom and daughter. They came to the center late because they thought we were only helping Hispanic families. The Mom was in her 80s, daughter mid 40s, and they were living in the apartment together. Both were sound asleep when the daughter heard noise and commotion in the hallways. They smelled smoke, saw flames and sparks. The daughter woke her mom and they ran thru the smoky halls and stairwell from 4^th floor. 18 hours later, both still wearing PJs with something over their PJs that they had borrowed. The daughter spoke a little English, mom spoke none. Joe knows Vietnamese (and 6 other languages) and was able to translate for the mom. They were provided assistance for clothing, shoes, seasonal items, food for two. They didn’t go to the hotel, but stayed with friends in Maryland. 

From Ed (Volunteer)
There was a Hispanic woman in her 60s who was sleeping in the church shelter behind the Mt. Pleasant apartment building. She was Spanish-speaking so the Ed needed interpreter. All her possessions were in a plastic bag by her bed, and she lost even that. She was wearing tennis shoes, a blouse and pants, all clothing she was given from Martha’s Table. She didn’t even have a coat. Between early Thursday a.m. and Monday when they were processed, they had been in two different shelters. They were then going to a third, a church on Mass Ave., where they would stay for a while. She was so extremely grateful for our assistance. 

From Ed (Volunteer)
Ed also worked with a Hispanic man in his 40s who lived in an apt w/ wife, 2-year old son and brother. The man returned home after midnight after having worked all day and saw the whole place in flames. He looked up and saw flames coming from his apartment window. Absolutely panic stricken, he ran to where the tenants were gathered and found his family had made it out. He has a heart condition and was so traumatized at the thought of losing his family that he was hospitalized from the night of the fire until Monday morning. Ed processed him Monday at the hotel. 

From Dyeva (Volunteer)
One woman came in because she was told people impacted by the fire should come talk to the Red Cross. She told us her story, that she had been burned out of her home, but she didn’t want to take any assistance because she had family and friends in the area that were helping her. Often, even if people don’t take the hotel arrangements, they usually take the Client Assistance Cards. She would not accept even that. She said she just wanted to come in to thank the Red Cross for being there. She knew there were others who needed assistance more, and she didn’t want to divert resources from them. She just wanted to come say thank you. 

From Dyeva (Volunteer)
An Aunt came in to start a 901 for her niece who was out of town on business. We were able to initiate the assistance. We couldn’t give the aunt financial assistance on her niece’s behalf, but she had the paperwork started so when her niece got home, she would be in process. “I thought it was such a neat example of how family steps up to help in a tragedy.” 

From Carol (Volunteer on the canteen)
They were trying to get the canteen to the scene early in the morning on Thursday. They kept encountering road blocks that wouldn’t allow them to get close to the firemen and police who would need the food. In order to gain access, her Red Cross partner would drive, and she would run ahead of the truck to negotiate with the cops directing traffic, promising them coffee, cookies, anything they wanted if they would let her through. She said it worked every time. She said, “We slugged more food out of that canteen than I have ever seen, but when I wasn’t serving fire fighters and workers from the truck, I would grab cookies and coffee and go back to the police at all those intersections to fulfill my promise. They had worked so many hours, and they couldn’t leave their post to come for coffee. They were very grateful.” 

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The American Red Cross of the National Capital Area (NCA), a humanitarian organization led by volunteers, provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people in our community prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters and other life-threatening emergencies. With dedicated staff members and over 4,000 volunteers, NCA responds to local disasters in our Washington DC Metropolitan area two-to-three times daily and continues building capacity through educating, equipping and empowering our community to help save lives. American Red Cross of the National Capital Area includes the counties of Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s; the District of Columbia; and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church. NCA maintains a field office at Fort Belvoir, a presence at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Andrews Air force Base.

You have an integral part in helping your local American Red Cross of the National Capital Area by volunteering and through financial gifts enabling us to continue providing critical services to our community. Visit www.redcrossnca.org to learn more about what we are doing and how to get involved!