Volunteer disaster responders with the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois responded to 15 fires from Monday, March 23 through today in the Chicago & Northern Illinois area in Aurora, Bellwood, Elgin, Joliet and more, including a fire in a three-story apartment building in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood that sadly resulted in the loss of life and displaced 11 families this past Friday.
In the past week, the Red Cross assisted 70 individuals, including 50 adults and 20 children with temporary housing, food, clothing and comfort kits with toiletry items, information about recovery services and health and mental health services.
The American Red Cross responds to 3 to 4 home fires every day in Chicago and Northern Illinois, and our volunteers have been working to respond virtually to fires whenever possible during this difficult time. If you need assistance, please call our dispatch Line: 1-877 597-0747. You can take two easy steps to protect your home and loved ones from a fire: get a smoke alarm and create a fire escape plan. Having a working smoke alarm cuts the risk of dying in a home fire in half.
Blood Donation
Thanks to the many who gave blood and scheduled
upcoming appointments. During this uncertain time, we encourage individuals to keep scheduled blood donation appointments and to make new appointments for the weeks ahead to ensure a stable supply throughout this pandemic. In times of crisis, the Red Cross is fortunate to witness the best of humanity as healthy people roll up a sleeve to help those in need.
Each Red Cross blood drive and donation center follows the highest standards of safety and infection control. To ensure the health of employees, volunteers and staff, precautions include:
It’s important to emphasize that there is no data or evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transmissions for any respiratory virus, including coronavirus, worldwide.
Donating blood is a safe process and people should not hesitate to give or receive blood. The need for blood is constant, and volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need of transfusions.
A number of blood drives have been added at the Red Cross Rauner Center office (2200 W. Harrison), the Red Cross Romeoville office (1293 Windham Parkway) and the Red Cross Rockford office (727 N. Church Street).
The Red Cross asks that healthy individuals who are eligible to donate make an appointment before showing up to donate blood in order to manage the flow of donors appropriately in alignment with social distancing practices. Schedule your appointment using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
About the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois:
The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois serves 9.5 million people in 21 counties including Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will and Winnebago. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit us at redcross.org/IL/chicago or visit us on Twitter @ChicagoRedCross.