Fires Keeping Red Cross Busy

Less than two weeks into the new year, the American Red Cross Eastern New York Region has already provided emergency aid to more than 70 people affected by house fires.

In the last four days, the Red Cross responded to multi-family fires in Schenectady, Troy, Little Falls and Boonville, helping a total of 46 adults and 26 children.

The Red Cross responds to at least one fire per day on average in Eastern New York and helps 4 to 5 people per response.

The last time volunteers provided aid to this many people in less than one week was last August, when a large fire in Albany displaced 45 residents.

"Unfortunately, home fires are an everyday occurrence in our region, but it's not every day that we see fires affecting this many people in such close succession," said Gary Striar, Regional CEO for the American Red Cross. "It's been a challenging start to the new year for dozens of families. Thankfully, with the support of our incredibly dedicated volunteers and generous local donors, the Red Cross continues to be there after fires large and small to help meet people's most urgent needs."

There are many ways to support the Red Cross:

To make a financial donation, please visit redcross.org/donate or call 1-800-RED-      CROSS.

To learn more about volunteering, visit redcross.org/volunteer. Enter your zip code to browse volunteer opportunities in your area and apply online.

To see how you can take action to prevent home fires, visit redcross.org/homefires.