Jerry Lambert's house after the fire.
The day after Christmas, Jon McCollum, a Community Disaster Program Specialist in the Piedmont Triad Chapter of the North Carolina Red Cross, was looking at Facebook when he saw a post from a woman asking for recommendations for a new smoke alarm.
Within the comments of this post, along with smoke alarm suggestions, was a comment from 72-year-old Jerry Lambert who said he too needed a smoke alarm. So, Jon messaged both individuals and scheduled the installation of free smoke alarms from the Red Cross. A week later, Jon and disaster volunteer Greg Grodem installed 4 smoke alarms at both residences.
“I am very fortunate to work for an organization like the American Red,” said Jon. “It allows me to go out and use my skills and knowledge to make homes and lives safer.”
Then on January 15th, Jon’s wife saw a report on Facebook about a local house fire. When she told Jon the address, he instantly recognized it as Jerry Lambert’s house.
According to Jerry, he was burning papers in his backyard in a burn barrel, and when he was finished, he went back inside his home as he thought the fire was out. A short while later, he heard a smoke alarm go off and smelt smoke, so he got up and went to look outside and saw that the fire had spread from the burn barrel to the back of his house. He tried to put the fire out but was unsuccessful, so he grabbed both of his small dogs, quickly exited the house and called 9-1-1 from his driveway. The fire department responded promptly, but the house ended up being destroyed.
Besides the smoke alarm, potentially saving his life, he also complimented the Piedmont Triad DAT volunteers Charles Huneycutt and Lucy Harrington for how nice and helpful they were.
Just three days after the fire, Jon and Greg visited Mr. Lambert again, this time at his 87-year-old neighbor's house where he is staying, and installed four more smoke alarms, since there were none in the home.
Mr. Lambert's fire is exactly why I get up every day and do what I do,” Jon stated. “You can always replace material things, but you can't replace someone's life.”
Jerry Lambert's house during the fire.
Jon McCollum, Jerry Lambert, and Greg Grodem.
Greg Grodem installs a fire alarm.
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