By Michelle Limpe

A home fire is one of the many unthinkable, tragic events that cause massive disruptions to the lives of those affected. While these tragedies are often preventable, an American Red Cross survey demonstrated that the majority of Americans are more unprepared to survive a home fire than they believe. This is why the partnership between the Red Cross and the Community Foundation of San Benito County (CFSBC), which started back in 2019, is so integral to protecting communities against home fires.  

Nikita Johnson, community relations manager of CFSBC, worked with the development team of the Red Cross to obtain a $5,000 grant for the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign from the Community Foundation. 

The grant supports the efforts of the Red Cross to prepare the San Benito community for home fires. Through the Home Fire Campaign launched in 2014, the Red Cross aims to educate millions of households on home fire safety and install free smoke alarms for communities in need. As a survivor of a home fire herself at seven years old, Nikita was aware of the risks of home fires as a child. 

“I was in Northern Arizona at the time that this happened. I think a candle was left unattended, and it spread very quickly,” she said. “I was a young child, and I woke up to a man carrying me out of my home. I didn’t have any clothing or toys, and we lived in a Residence Inn for about six months while our home was being fixed. My shoes were in there, my toys were in there, everything was smoked in. But everyone was safe. That’s all that matters.” 

Her family was extremely appreciative of the heroism and timely action of the first responders who saved her. Afterward, her family heavily relied on donations from the community as they recovered.  

“When you think of what you would grab in a fire, I don’t think people even think of all of the little things that we rely on day to day,” she said. “Having the community rally around us and having professionals who were able to remediate the property and make it safe for us to live again was hugely important.” 

Now in San Benito, Nikita has been doing tremendous work to raise awareness and equip the community with fire prevention resources. She described the characteristics of San Benito County that make the region particularly susceptible to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and fires.  

“Home fire prevention is super important in our county because we do have a lot of low-income residents who are living in non-traditional housing,” she said. “We sit right on top of the San Andreas fault. If an earthquake were to happen, which is very common, the fire just happens too, especially in the heat of the summer when the brush gets dry. It can be very quick and scary.” 

According to Nikita, older homes in rural areas are more susceptible to fires because they are made of weaker building materials like wood and often have outdated smoke alarm systems.  

The large Spanish-speaking population in the area also makes bilingual education about home fire preventive measures, such as installing carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, even more necessary.   

“Have a plan for your family to get out in a fire and make sure that you’re cutting the brush around your home because something as easy as a lightning strike could change everything,” Nikita said. “Even how to check your doorknobs for heat before they open a door, keep low with smoke in the air, all of these things are so important, especially in a more rural area where [firefighting] services might take longer to arrive.”   

Nikita continues to provide that same community support that she received when she was a child. In fact, just earlier this year, some residents of San Benito lost their homes in an apartment fire that displaced 34 people.
 
With assistance from various organizations, including the Red Cross, CFSBC was able to provide the residents with food, clothing and essentials within two days of the fire through their disaster recovery fund.    

“It’s very much a team effort,” Nikita said. “We’re so grateful for the support and that we can work with nonprofits to make sure everything is coordinated. We had only a few minor injuries, and the victims are back into permanent housing.”  

Nikita stressed that bringing relief to victims of all these natural disasters requires a lot of community support. She is one of many people at the CFSBCF who works on various initiatives for the health and safety of San Benito County.

“As much community support as possible is needed, whether that’s childcare or donation of time or money or resources. These fires spread fast. What could be one home can be three or four in not much time,” she said. “So, make sure that not only are you handled but the people around you also. If you hear your neighbors’ alarm or maybe their battery needs to be replaced, tell them.” 

As exemplified by the work of Nikita with the CFSBC, the organization’s mission to prevent home fires aligns with the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign.  “We are such a small community foundation, so sometimes our contributions are limited,” she said. “But we were so grateful to help with this goal and partner with people at the Red Cross who have this sense of urgency and sense of justice in this situation. It’s not fair when your home burns down, but we can do whatever we can to make it at least a little bit less traumatic.” 

Jordan Chan, Red Cross regional philanthropy partner said, “The Foundation has supported these efforts before, and we are so grateful that they have renewed their commitment to home fire safety this year and are partnering with us again to serve our community.”
 
The Red Cross continues its work across the country to provide homes with free smoke alarms and campaign on the importance of fire safety. Their partnership with the CFSBC is another step towards reaching and protecting even more families against the devastating impact of home fires.   


Learn more about how you can support the Home Fire Campaign.