LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — American Red Cross volunteers are providing assistance to multiple families after a house fire and two separate apartment fires broke out in the Las Vegas valley.
Chanise Williams and her two children weren’t at home, but nearby when their building caught fire.
“When I came home, the fire departments were parked in front of my house and my house was in flames,” Williams explained as she teared up. “It’s scary cause me and my children could’ve lost our lives including my boyfriend as well.”
She lived in the upstairs apartment off of Jones and Lake Mead boulevards.
“My boyfriend was at home in the moment asleep, someone had pulled up to the curb surprisingly and they seen the fire and they went in to evacuate him,” Williams added.
Rachel Flanigan from the American Red Cross of Southern Nevada said volunteer teams are quickly dispatched to assist affected families like Williams.
“We do see a lot of these multi-family fires because apartment complexes are common and we have those multiple levels and different things where people are impacted but this many in one day is quite a bit,” Flanigan said.
29 adults, 14 children displaced after several fires across Las Vegas valley
Williams is one of the many people now displaced after 3 separate fires damaged two apartment complexes and a home on Saturday.
“They came out that night and they gave us a card loaded with some funds to help us get through these next couple of days and advised they would contact us within in 72 hours,” Williams said.
The Red Cross is helping 29 adults and 14 children displaced by these different fires from this weekend. After a damage assessment, a caseworker is assigned to each family for weeks or months depending on their situation.
“We had a fire a few months back where it was right before school started. So we worked with a partner agency to ensure children had clothes to wear to school and we stuck with those families to make sure they had what they needed to get back in the groove of things so we help with the entire process. So we start with being prepared, responding and helping with recovery,” Flanigan added.
Aside from immediate food, shelter and money, the Red Cross also provides emotional support and mental help.
Williams said for now she’s trying to figure out a plan. With spring break, she took a leave off work to find a shelter to take in her family.
“Me and my children were homeless for 6 months and we were blessed to able to move into this unit so we’ve been not even a complete year,” Williams said. ” Everything is going to be okay, I’ve been through it before and not with losing everything this way but I know God and I have faith and I know I’m very blessed and I’ve always been very blessed and I know I’ll get through this. I have two children, nothing else for me to do but get through it.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Aside from clothes and food, the Red Cross also offers mental help and emotional support.
Red Cross also provides free smoke alarm installations and home fire safety education.