By Mariwyn Evans

It was the nudging of her dog, Toby, and the high-pitched beep of a fire alarm that propelled Hannah Jones and her husband Kenny Minasian out of their smoke-filled house to safety one spring midnight in 2024. Minutes later, Jones watched from across the street as flames consumed their house. “The heat was so intense it melted the siding on neighbors’ houses. Our home was a complete loss,” she says. The rest of the short night went by in a haze.

Still disoriented the next day, Jones found a source of both useful information and solace from her American Red Cross case manager.

“We went to the Nashville office next day and talked to their recovery planning services. They provided so much information on who to contact about the fire, community resources available to us and what paperwork we needed,” Jones says. Although as an attorney with Ponce Law in Nashville, Jones was familiar with complex situations. “Having someone who had been through a fire before was invaluable.”

“Our case manager also offered to help us find a place to stay and emergency funds,” Jones explains. “Fortunately, our insurance claim came through promptly, and the company found us a hotel room after we left my sister’s. But for many people who aren’t as fortunate, financial assistance and a safe place to stay would have been critical.”

The American Red Cross connected Jones with a food pantry for supplies and offered tips on how to salvage property damaged by the fire. “We used the lemon juice tip when we were able to retrieve clothes from our fire-damaged bedroom,” Jones explains.

Perhaps the most valuable resource the Red Cross provided was caring. “The Red Cross kept the case open for weeks and continued checking in to be sure that our needs were met,” Jones recalls.  Just over a year since the fire took place, Jones and her family are living in a new house rebuilt on the same North Nashville site near Dickerson Road.

Jones has also found a way to express her thanks to the American Red Cross. “Our firm owner’s wife learned about our fire and reached out to find ways our employees could give back through the Red Cross,” says Jones. About 15 members from the law firm participated in a “Sound the Alarm” event, checking and installing smoke alarms in nearby Madison, TN. “Lots of the people either didn’t have smoke alarms or hadn’t maintained them for a long time, so our group was able to install lots of units and make these people safer,” she says.

Jones welcomes the chance to do additional volunteer work for the American Red Cross in the future. “The Red Cross was there when I needed them. I’d like to do the same for someone else,” she says.