By: Frederic Klein

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Canarsie, Brooklyn, a trio of Red Cross volunteers with the Home Fire Campaign — Alex Mikhalchanka, Alina Shevtsova, and Eli Dardis — were spending the day making home fire safety visits. They had already completed a few appointments to install free smoke alarms when they arrived at the home of Bernadette Jean. A first-time homeowner, Bernadette and her husband had purchased the duplex less than a year ago.

Alina smelled it first — a sulphury rotten egg smell, which matched exactly the scratch-and-sniff gas safety pamphlet that is included in a standard home fire safety visit.

"We all started feeling a little dizzy and headachy, and I was also a little doubting myself like ‘is this placebo,’” recounted Alina, an emergency medical technician (EMT) who is currently going to school to become a physician assistant. “But then once we came out and breathed that fresh air, we realized yeah – we were feeling sick in there.”

They asked Bernadette if she noticed the smell, and she said their downstairs tenant had complained previously. At that time, Bernadette and her husband called the local gas provider, who didn’t detect a leak when they responded to the home.

“I knew there was some issue in the house, but I didn’t smell it,” said Bernadette. “We didn't know there was a gas leak because prior to that, when we had a complaint from our tenant, the gas company came out and said there was no gas. From time to time [afterwards], I smelled it too, when I opened the door, but it just lasted for like five minutes. But since they told us it wasn’t gas, we just thought, ‘when we have some money, we can have someone come and check [for the source of the smell].’”

Eli made the call to 911. Within minutes, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) arrived and verified the gas odor. The firefighters then called the local gas provider, who quickly arrived to shut the gas off.

"Right around when the fire department was finishing up, there were a few neighbors who came out,” said Eli, a six-year Red Cross volunteer. “One of them asked me if everything was okay and I told them it was a localized gas leak but everyone’s alright.”

Alex, a nursing student who is currently training to become an EMT, was glad they were able to get the attention of the fire department and gas company.

"I was glad that we were able to help them figure this problem out,” Alex reflected. “Since [the residents] had already investigated it multiple times, you never know how long they would have lived with this.”

Bernadette remains grateful for the fateful visit from the Home Fire Campaign trio.

“It makes me feel good and I feel really happy [that the Red Cross helped report the gas leak] because you are dealing with peoples’ lives,” said Bernadette. “They made me feel the urgency of the situation and I really appreciate that. Otherwise, I would still have [the gas leak] and would not know.”
 

The Home Fire Campaign has saved more than 2,063 lives since the program’s inception in October 2014, including the lives of Bernadette, her family, and their tenants. To learn more about how you can volunteer with the Home Fire Campaign to help save lives, like Alex, Alina, and Eli, please visit SoundTheAlarm.org/GNY.