JAMESTOWN, S.C.–American Red Cross disaster-trained volunteers are assisting a family whose home, located on French Santee Road in Jamestown, was damaged by a fire Sunday. The Shurlerville-Honeyhill Fire Department responded to the blaze. The Red Cross is helping two adults and four children by providing financial assistance for food, clothing, lodging and other essentials, and comfort kits containing personal hygiene items.
Each year around the holidays the Red Cross and partners see an uptick in the number of home fires. It’s also been shown that Christmas tree fires are much more likely to be deadly than most other fires and candle fires are four times as likely to occur. When cooking and decorating this holiday season, the Red Cross is reminding families to check their existing smoke alarms and practice fire drills at home. Every household should develop a fire escape plan and practice it several times a year and at different times of the day. Install smoke alarms on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Test them every month and replace the batteries when needed.
HOW TO HELP Help people affected by disasters and countless other crises by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. People can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
BECOME A VOLUNTEER To join us, visit redcross.org today to learn more about volunteer opportunities and how to submit a volunteer application.
DOWNLOAD EMERGENCY APP People can download the free Red Cross Emergency App now to be ready in case of a disaster in their community. They can use the app’s “I’m Safe” button to connect with their loved ones. The Emergency App can be found in the app store for someone’s mobile device by searching for “American Red Cross” or by going to redcross.org/apps.
