Yanet Villagomez, who told her story through an interpreter, was on her way to pick up her son from work when she smelled something burning.

She said at first she didn’t pay too much attention, but a few minutes later when she got home her 12 year old daughter met her in the hallway. Smoke was filling the apartment.

Yanet yelled to her husband, “There’s a lot of smoke!” She ran through their home trying to find where it was coming from, then she thought of her neighbor Maria Elena Pantoja.

Maria Elena was sleeping deeply. It was late, and her husband and adult son were asleep too. When Yanet started banging on her door, she didn’t hear it.

Yanet didn’t give up and kept knocking louder and louder until Maria Elena heard her.Yanet said all she could think about was, “Can you imagine if the fire caught us while we were all sleeping?” Her persistence may have saved their lives.

Firefighters evacuated more than 50 people after the apartment fire overnight Dec. 13th on South Union Street in Kennett Square. Many people would have had nowhere to go without the American Red Cross, Chester County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Kennett Consolidated School District setting up a shelter at Kennett High School.

Red Cross volunteers initially helped staff a reception center for impacted residents overnight at The Garage Youth Center in Kennett Square. Residents were later transported to the high school, where the shelter opened around 4 a.m. Here, the Red Cross, along with our partners, provided families with a safe place to sleep, meals and snacks, Spanish language interpreters, access to community resources, emotional support and more. A total of 55 people – plus a dog and a parakeet – used the shelter’s services.

In an extraordinary and generous show of support, Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) stepped up and provided hotel rooms for impacted families, which allowed the Red Cross to close the shelter at 7 p.m. on the same day it opened. The non-profit agency is also helping to find permanent housing for families who cannot return to their apartments once power is restored.

KACS and the Kennett Square Borough also collected donations of clothing, food and other supplies to help the families recover. This compliments the ongoing casework and emergency assistance provided by the Red Cross.

None of this would be possible without the dedication of Red Cross volunteers. Roberta and Michael Musheno were two such volunteers on the ground overnight. They have been volunteering with the Red Cross for about a year, after former careers as a pharmacist and environmental engineer. The husband and wife team helped out at the shelter welcoming clients and serving food, among other important jobs.

They first saw the Red Cross in action during Hurricane Sandy back in 2013 when they helped set up a shelter as part of a medical reserve corps.

“That’s what sparked the interest ten years ago,” Michael said. “We’ve met a lot of great people and we enjoy it.”

Roberta agreed and said their favorite thing about volunteering with the Red Cross is “helping people who really needed it.”

Yanet and Maria Elena agree that the Red Cross shelter meant a lot to them.

Yanet was grateful to have a place to stay, food to eat and somewhere to take a shower.

Maria Elena said when the fire broke out she could feel the smoke in her throat and it was scary to think she may not have anywhere to go. The shelter made her happy she had a place to stay for the night and she didn’t end up on the street.

To learn more about the Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Region or to make a financial donation, schedule an appointment to donate blood or sign up to become a volunteer, visit redcross.org/philly.

PHOTO: Red Cross volunteers Fred Lehman, Charline Scott and Valerie Kania set up the shelter registration area overnight at Kennett High School. Photo by Debbie Tevlin / American Red Cross.

- Written by Jenny Farley and Alana Mauger