Mallorie, 31, woke to the smell of smoke in her bedroom. She stated that her room was filled with smoke coming from outside of her window. Mallorie immediately sprang into action to alert her family. Mallorie ran to her mother’s room to wake her up and notify her that something outside was burning. They grabbed their dogs and made their way through the smoke-filled house.

Jeni and Mallorie quickly exited the house to find that a small building next door, which they also owned, was fully engulfed in flames and that the fire was spreading rapidly. Jeni called 911 before beginning to spray the house with water in an effort to reduce the spreading of the fire. At this time, Jeni was focused on saving her dogs who were still trapped inside the home, and preventing the fire from spreading to the house. Once the fire department arrived, they immediately began extinguishing the fire that consumed the small building. Unfortunately, by the time the firefighters had put out that fire, the family’s home was engulfed in flames. Sadly, the family lost their home and dogs in the fire. Compounding the tragedy, the family didn’t have any insurance covering the home in which they had lived since 1995.

While waiting for the fire to be put out, the Cleghorns were met by a Red Cross Disaster Action Team Responder who offered them support and resources in their time of need. Jeni said that the Red Cross was very helpful during this time and assisted the family in getting necessities that they had lost in the fire.

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 redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.