Bryan Ortiz says he wasn’t initially concerned when he heard a smoke alarm around 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 11th in his Northeast Philadelphia apartment building. Then he heard someone screaming, “Fire! Fire!” and he knew he had to get out fast.

With his cat Akira in tow, Bryan arrived at Samuel Fels High School a few hours later where the American Red Cross and Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM) were setting up a shelter for those impacted.

“I was scared but you guys were pleasant. You had the basic necessities – like I could get a night’s sleep at least, a few hours to refresh and get back on my feet,” he shared the following afternoon.

The Red Cross provided Bryan with a crate for Akira so she would also have a safe place to stay inside the shelter.

Bryan was one of 42 residents from the apartment complex who sheltered in the high school gymnasium that first night, while others chose to find their own accommodations. The four-alarm fire caused the entire complex to be evacuated – over 170 apartment units – displacing hundreds of people.

In addition to giving residents a place to rest, the Red Cross and its community partners provided meals, snacks, comfort items and health and emotional support at the shelter.

Andre Hull, whose aunt and grandmother also live in the apartment complex, created some comfort for himself and others by playing a piano that sat in the entryway of the high school outside of the shelter. He said music helped him remain calm during the evacuation and is now helping him focus on “trying to be positive.”

“Knowing that you’re alive, I think that’s the biggest thing. Just being alive. Being here. It’s very hard though,” he said.

Andre also thanked the Red Cross for being so accommodating and providing shelter, food and other items to families like his.

“It means a lot that you guys are here,” he shared.

Bibi, who is from Afghanistan, was also grateful for the safety and comfort provided by the Red Cross when she arrived at the shelter in the middle of the night with mother and two sisters.  

“I’m really happy to have a place here to come to stay for the night,” she said. “My family is okay. I don’t worry about anything. You guys are here to help us. I don’t worry.”

This is the third time Bibi has lost her home. She spent time in a refugee camp after the war in Afghanistan and also experienced a fire in another one of her family homes.

The Red Cross shelter at Samuel Fels High School was open until Sunday, July 14th when it transitioned to a new location at 600 E. Luzerne St. in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia community, including some residents who were impacted by the fire themselves, pitched in to help those who needed it. Apartment resident Tina, who was also displaced by the fire, was worried about her neighbors at the shelter. She stopped by to drop off new clothing she purchased the morning after the fire.

“I was told they need clothes, so I got them,” she said. Tina shared that she and her family had begun moving out of the apartment recently, and she wanted to do anything she could to help people who had lost more than she had.

Helping her community in another way, Tina planned to spend the next day donating platelets with the Red Cross – something she tries to do every two weeks. At last count, she has donated 63 units.

Red Cross volunteer Hal Cohen, who served as a shelter supervisor throughout the operation, has special empathy for people who come into a shelter after a fire. His own apartment burned down more than 40 years ago when he was in college.

“There’s quite a few people who volunteer because of their experiences with the Red Cross actually when they were younger,” he said, noting that his favorite thing about volunteering is the people. “You know, the people with the same sense of values to give back, and just the idea of helping people at their worst time. It’s a big part of it.”

On Thursday, July 18th, the Red Cross and Philadelphia OEM held a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) at Northeast Community Propel Academy. A MARC serves as a “one-stop” location for residents to access different services from across the city and state that may be able to assist in their recovery. 

The MARC served 115 households impacted by the fire and enabled the Red Cross recovery team to help residents develop transition plans from the Luzerne Street shelter. With everyone having a place to continue their recovery, the shelter closed on Friday, July 19th – but the work continues!

Following the MARC, the Red Cross opened an intake center over several days at Wyncote Towers in Montgomery County. To date, the Red Cross has provided assistance to 112 families – a total of 266 people. Over the coming weeks, the Red Cross will continue to work with these families and individuals on their next steps in the recovery process.

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PHOTO: Red Cross volunteers Eileen Rall and Joe Gray survey the dormitory area in the gymnasium at Samuel Fels High School in Northeast Philadelphia. Photo by Jeffrey Kolakowski / Philadelphia OEM 

- Written by Jenny Farley and Alana Mauger