By David Strom

The afternoon of the last day of 2024 saw a fire break out in the Midtown Park apartment building in Little Rock. And while confined to a single seven-story building, this like so many other fire incidents show the powerful role that the American Red Cross continues to play. And while the fires surrounding Los Angeles continue to gather news attention, this one building is a microcosm of how the Red Cross can focus on the various resources to help people move on with their lives and get the needed assistance.

The building had 127 occupied apartments: eleven residents were taken to the hospital for treatment, four of whom had critical injuries. Sadly, there was one fatality. The Red Cross was quickly on the scene, establishing a shelter at a nearby church with more than 40 volunteer nurses.

Beverly Culp must have sensed something wrong because she woke up from a nap that afternoon in her apartment. “I wasn’t ready to wake up entirely, but I smelled smoke and heard the fire alarm ringing in the hallway.” She was on the first floor and was able to quickly gather her wits and leave the building. “I could see that some people were trapped on the second floor.” Culp has had a small stroke and diabetes and walks with difficulty, but she made it out safely and was cared for at the church shelter. “The Red Cross has been great, she told us. “I got help with some physical therapy, along with medications for my blood pressure and diabetes. One of the real benefits was knowing that I was in a safe place at the shelter.” She was full of praise for the caring nurses. “They are all great and helped me with supplying various equipment, such as for testing my blood sugar. You don’t want to be another casualty statistic, particularly if there is something you can do to help yourself,” which points out an important role that the shelter volunteers play in helping their clients get back on their feet – quite literally for Culp.

“Nurses are a gift to all of us,” Culp said. “I couldn’t be more grateful. You can trust the Red Cross to take care of your families, and please support their efforts.” Culp trained as a Certified Medical Assistant in 1999, and worked in several nursing homes as a volunteer, and she hopes to get herself back to doing more volunteering again soon.

Michelle Kaiser was another Midtown Park resident affected by the New Year’s Eve fire. She highlighted the sense of community she experienced in the church shelter as a client. “At a shelter, you will end up working together, so you will get to know your neighbors and help each other get through the crisis,” she said, emphasizing that the Red Cross provides all kinds of help. “Of course, I would go to a Red Cross shelter as a first choice! I wouldn’t know what to do if the Red Cross hadn’t been here on the night of the fire, and really appreciated your help. I love every one of the Red Cross folks I met and have so much gratitude for them. I am so glad that they were here to help.”

Kaiser offers up one important lesson learned: “People should get several smoke detectors; they totally save lives. I was three minutes away from dying and the one in my apartment went off.”

Do you want to help people like Beverly and Michelle, become a Disaster Action Team volunteer. To learn more visit, www.redcross.org/JoinRedCross