Volunteer disaster responders with the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois responded to 14 fires from Monday, October 28 through today in the Chicago & Northern Illinois area including fires in Algonquin, Bloomingdale, Glenwood, Lindenhurst, Rockford and more, with eight of these fires taking place in Chicago.
Our volunteers assisted 80 individuals, including 47 adults and 33 children. The Red Cross helped 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. The Red Cross recommends two easy steps to help protect your home and loved ones from a fire: get a smoke alarm and create a fire escape plan. The Red Cross installs FREE smoke alarms year-round. To schedule an appointment to get a free installation in your home, visit www.getasmokealarm.org.
This past Saturday, Red Cross volunteers also installed 77 smoke alarms and provided fire safety information in 24 homes in Chicago. In addition, our volunteers installed 54 smoke alarms in 27 homes in Manteno, Illinois last Friday. This was a joint effort with the Manteno Fire Department and the Kankakee Community Emergency Response Team. For more Red Cross fire safety and preparedness information visit www.redcross.org/prepare.
HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by disasters like storms 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. Call, click, or text to give: visit redcross.org, call 1-800 RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. To donate by check or to a specific cause, please complete this donation form by printing and mailing to your local Red Cross chapter.
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.