By Angie Springs, American Red Cross

In 1964, Phyllis Losack was what some would refer to as an ordinary mom.

She was married to the love of her life, raising a young family consisting of two sons, 3-year-old Gary Wayne and 5-year-old Gerard Jr., and a daughter, 4-year-old Jenny. Each was one year a part to the day.

Some might say that she had it all. She and her husband both worked outside of the home, and so she would take her children to her mother’s house during the day for her to watch them. Her mom and sister were the only people she trusted at that time to watch her kids. And it was fun for her children to go to her mother’s house, as she was one of seven children, with her youngest sibling being the same age as Jenny.

Phyllis recalled that particularly cloudy day in 1964 when she and her husband were both at work, and her children were at her mother’s house for the day. Her kids and her youngest sister would spend the day playing in the garage, where there was a large table set up for them to do some coloring. Phyllis’ brother and his friends would spend the day working on a car in the driveway.

Just a normal day. Until she received a call from her oldest sister around 5p.m. that she needed to get home now. She could tell from the urgency in her voice that something was wrong, and that she had better get there quick.

Driving into the neighborhood where her mother lived, Phyllis could see several firetrucks. She wasn’t sure where the trucks were parked exactly, and she was stopped by a policeman who told her that they were not letting anyone into the neighborhood. She was finally able to convince him that she needed to get to where her children were. And as she arrived at the house, she knew that the firetrucks were there to put out a fire at her mother’s house. Phyllis would later learn that the fire originated in the garage when a faulty water heater ignited fumes from the car that her brother was working on in the driveway.

Immediately, Phyllis was told that her two sons had been taken to the hospital but that they were going to be OK. Her daughter, a blanket draped around her shoulders, was sitting in the yard with her mother. She also learned that her little sister had also been transported to the hospital, but again Phyllis was assured that she would be OK.

Little did she know that it would all be anything but OK.

When Phyllis and her husband arrived at the hospital, they learned that their youngest son had died in the fire. The only way that they could identify the boys from each other was that one of the boys had a splinter removed from his foot earlier that day by her husband. Five-year-old Gerard Jr. would die the next day, and Phyllis’ little sister would end up passing away a week later.

Jenny was also very badly burned and was being treated at the hospital. The blanket that was wrapped around her at the scene of the fire was obviously a terrible idea, and Jenny required multiple surgeries following the fire.

Lots of people stepped up to help, and Phyllis’ priest was constantly offering support, but eventually the family lost their home due to medical bills. The Red Cross didn’t respond like they do today, so that help wasn’t available. Phyllis eventually learned about the Shriner’s hospital and that they were building a new burn hospital in Galveston, Texas. Since her mother-in-law lived in Beaumont, Texas, the family was able to spend some time in Texas and find a Shriner who would sponsor Jenny to go to the new Shriner Hospital.

Jenny ended up being one of the first 25 children admitted and the first from California. She would continue going to Shriner Hospital regularly until she was 16 years old.

Years later, the grief and pain that Phyllis and her family endured sometimes make it seem like these tragic events happened yesterday. But both Phyllis and Jenny have found hope in serving others.

Jenny found her calling at a disaster program manager with the American Red Cross of Southern Missouri, and Phyllis found her calling by helping with the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign. She feels joy in helping to make sure that homes are safer by simply having a working smoke alarm installed. She has also been able to respond to home fires with Jenny, and it is such an honor to help those impacted because she knows what it feels like to have a fire strip away your world.

“If I can help just one person, then it’s worth it,” Phyllis said when considering the impact that she has had in volunteering with the Red Cross.

For more information on how you can volunteer like Phyllis does, visit www.redcross.org/volunteertoday.

Also, if you are in need a smoke alarm installed in your home, visit www.redcross.org/SmokeAlarmMO