By Saskia Lindsay
On May 15th, 2022, at around 10 pm, Cedric Collins received a phone call. On the line was his neighbor telling him that his home in Manning, South Carolina was on fire.
“I answered the call, and it was one of my cousins who lives up the road, and she said, ‘I don’t want you to panic, but I think your house is on fire,” Cedric recalled.
The first thought on Cedric’s mind was how grateful he was as his family and his pets were not at home. He called 911 and by the time he made it to his house, it was a complete loss.
Cedric, his fiancé, and his two children took the small number of belongings they had left and went to a hotel for the night. The firefighters on scene connected the family with the Red Cross of South Carolina, and they made an appointment for the next morning.
“We went to the Red Cross office and talked to a lady there, who was phenomenal. We were treated with such love and kindness as soon as we stepped in the office,” said Cedric.
Cedric remembers the Red Cross provided the family clothes, snacks, comfort and hygiene kits, and financial assistance to cover the cost of the hotel where he and his family stayed after the fire.
“They were able to take care of what is most important to me, which is my family,” said Cedric.
Despite losing their home, the Collins family pressed forward. Cedric, and his fiancé, Jessica decided to build a new home where their original home had burned down. The couple even continued planning their wedding in the midst of rebuilding and were happily married on August 21st, 2022. Cedric and his wife say that with the help of the Red Cross and other community members including churches, friends, family, the fire department, and others; the family was able to see hope throughout the tragedy of losing their home.
“You can just tell when someone is being authentic, and they really love what they’re doing and are passionate. They showed us an extreme amount of love. It was to the point that I was even crying before I left [the Red Cross office] because amid what was going on, it was already emotional; but to have someone show you so much love,” said Cedric full of emotion.
The American Red Cross prepares all year for disasters and urges everyone to “Be Red Cross Ready” this fall by creating a home fire escape plan with your family. Alongside our partners, the Red Cross of South Carolina has installed thousands of smoke alarms across the state, making hundreds of families safer. To learn more about our smoke alarm installations, please visit redcross.org/sound-the-alarm.
