By Stephanie Babyak, Red Cross volunteer

Glennette Strother and her family experienced a terrifying fire that almost destroyed their home in Burke, Virginia last year. Extensive home repair and rebuilding was needed, requiring the family to rent a temporary place to live. So Glennette, her husband, four children and their dog moved to a house in Falls Church while repair work was underway. The Burke fire was terrifying, and the family lost almost everything they owned. However, they were grateful because everyone was safe.

Sadly, several months later in September 2022, the unthinkable happened when disaster struck a second time. “I was working late at the office, while my husband and four children were at the house. That evening, my oldest son smelled smoke, and when he went in search of the cause, he saw a fire smoldering in the laundry room. The fire was by the gas line, which could have caused a major explosion. My son alerted my husband and together they put out the fire.”   

However, as her oldest son was preparing to go to bed, smoke and flames burst out of the bedroom of a relative staying with them. “Thankfully, the dog woke up the kids. My daughter grabbed her cell phone and got her two brothers up and evacuated the house,” said Glennette. “My daughter called me, and I called 911. My husband scrambled to get everyone out of the house safely. The whole experience was traumatic.”

After the fire at their Burke home, Glennette’s employer provided financial assistance through an employee fund to help Glennette and her family. “We lost almost 90% of everything, clothes, shoes, just everything,” explained Glennette. “We had exhausted the aid available through my employer, so I didn’t know what we were going to do.”

However, after the Falls Church home fire, Glennette was grateful that, “The American Red Cross was there right away to see how they could support our needs at that moment.”

“My son needed shoes since he ran out of the house barefoot. [My children] needed backpacks for school and school clothes,” said Glennette. “The financial assistance from the Red Cross helped pay for all that so they could go to school. We’re so grateful that the Red Cross was there when we needed it most.”

Often, survivors of home fires experience trauma and can struggle with their mental health. In addition to immediate assistance, the Red Cross offers referrals for much-needed services such as Disaster Mental Health and Health Services. In the days and weeks afterwards, volunteer team members continue to work with survivors to get families back on the road to recovery.

Every day, seven people die in home fires, most often in homes without working smoke alarms. That’s why the American Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign in 2014 to save lives.

In 2022, volunteers and community partners throughout the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region (NCGC) installed an estimated 3,869 free smoke alarms in local homes. Teams share home fire safety information and create escape plans, making families safer. After a home fire, the Red Cross is there to offer financial assistance for urgent needs like emergency lodging, food and clothing, replacing medications, and one-on-one recovery support for navigating next steps and connecting with community resources. That year, volunteers throughout the NCGC Region provided 2,334 families with financial assistance after a home fire emergency.

If you’d like to help people like the Strother family and others recover from devastating home fires and get back on their feet, there are a number of ways you can help. Volunteer with the American Red Cross or make a financial donation to prepare, respond and help those impacted by disasters. Visit RedCross.org to learn more.