With each new grass or structure fire in the South Plains, the American Red Cross is also called out to help the victims of the incident.
“Our volunteers go on scene and provide some real basic emergency assistance,” American Red Cross of the South Plains Executive Director Laura Hann said.
But with an increase in home fires, their local office needs help with volunteers and donations to keep up with the demand.
“We want to make sure people have a safe place to stay, they’ve got appropriate food to eat and appropriate clothing to wear,” Hann said. “Then we have volunteers who do casework and counseling with these families to help them map out that plan forward.”
The South Plains office serves 15 counties in West Texas with about 150 volunteers. Hann added that they respond to every emergency call.
“We typically see that we have around 100 plus single family disaster incidents every year, most of those are home fires,” Hann said. “On average we see a few families that are impacted by a flood or strong wind incident.”
This organization is not funded by the government. They rely completely on the donations of the South Plains.
“We’re always in need of financial donations and that’s something individuals can make online at americanredcross.org,” Hann said.
Hann added anyone interested in volunteering or donating can also stop by their office for more information and an application.
