Story told by Kathy Stewart, Red Cross Volunteer

“Sherryl, the house is on fire!”

On April 10, 2024, Sherryl Sutton was awakened with the words no one wants to hear. Sherryl shares a home with her son, Cody, her sister, Robin, her elderly mother, and their four dogs. Fortunately, Robin immediately called 911 when she saw smoke.

Sherryl began looking around the home to figure out the source of the fire. One of Robin’s two dogs had gone from her mother’s room back to her own, and she suspected the fire was in her mother’s room or bathroom. Sherryl touched her mother’s bedroom door which was warm but not hot.

Sherryl broke the door, went into the bathroom, and saw embers and smoke. With everything happening quickly, she realized her feet were wet, with water going everywhere.

Her son, Cody was still asleep and as she woke him, Sherryl remembered she had a fire extinguisher. With Cody’s help, she was able to extinguish the embers.

The 911 dispatcher recommended turning off the electricity to the affected area and shutting the water off and Sherryl had trouble determining the breakers that corresponded to each room. After flipping several, she was able to turn off the electricity. With smoke still billowing, Cody and Sherryl went outside, and Sherryl turned on the car lights so Cody could see to turn off the water main, located near the road.

Sherryl grabbed a leash and put her dog, Crumbles, in her car while Robin corralled her two dogs, Zeus and Itty Bitty safely into her car. Robin worked on getting her mother, who has dementia, into her wheelchair and out of the home as several emergency vehicles began arriving.

“My mama’s dog, Rascal, was running around and finally ended up in mama’s lap,” Sherryl remembers the family’s hurried escape."

By that time, the firefighters had contained the fire and worked with Sherryl and Robin to get information for necessary paperwork.

“They told us the Red Cross would come and to stay there until they arrived,” Sherryl recalled the Red arrived within two hours. “The Red Cross gave us a big bucket of supplies to help with clean up and also gave us a debit card that we could use to stay in a hotel—a big help!”

Sherryl and her family were able to get back into their home after a week, thanks to her brother-in-law, who assisted with rewiring and replacing light switches, and others who provided assistance. The family is still working to replace items and make repairs so they can get back to normal.

“They were so sweet; a lady with the Red Cross called me every Monday to check and see how we were doing. They emailed me a list of different agencies that could help us out,” Sherryl said the Red Cross assistance didn’t end the night of the fire. “I was overwhelmed with everything; the Red Cross made sure we had information available to us when we needed it.”

Here in South Carolina, the Red Cross responds to an average of six home fires a day. As Sherryl experienced, Red Cross disaster action team members meet with the family and learn what they’ve experienced. They not only provide financial assistance for immediate needs such as hotel stays, or to replace food and clothing, but they also remain in contact for the next 30 days to uncover remaining needs, such as replacing eyeglasses, and medications or connecting families with spiritual or mental health care providers.

Sherryl experienced this aid firsthand: “We wouldn’t have been able to do those things if it hadn’t been for the Red Cross coming out and helping us out and giving us resources.”

The Red Cross helps in the aftermath of disasters such as home fires and also works hard to prevent them through the South Carolina Home Fire Campaign, a program to install free smoke alarms. Lend a hand to reduce death and injury from home fires by volunteering or making a donation.