By Pete Suarez, American Red Cross Public Affairs

Señor, ¿qué hago? (Mister, what do I do?). Those were the first words I heard when I walked into Lummus Park Community Center, in the heart of the City of Miami, dressed in my American Red Cross gear.

The woman and about fifty of her neighbors had just evacuated their four-story apartment building, which was being consumed by a 3-alarm fire that began around 8:15 a.m. on Monday, June 10. Some were clad only in their pajamas.

Thus began two days of work in which many Red Cross volunteers and employees took part.

I can imagine how you must feel, but the Red Cross is here to help; tell me what happened, I said to her.

I learned from her story that the police and fire department responders had gone door to door to ensure no one was left in the building.

At the risk of her own life, she had gone to her friend’s apartment, who she knew might not hear the warnings and commotion. She was glad she did.

Initially, the Red Cross set up shop in the nearby community center to assist city officials in organizing the immediacy of the event. The city began to deliver and distribute snacks and water while the Red Cross started assessing locations to open a shelter.  

I was tasked with interviewing all present to get a head count of those who would have no place to stay. A few moments later, we decided to open a shelter at the Jose Marti Recreation Center, less than a mile away. Two Red Crossers went to inspect the site. In the meantime, our emergency response vehicle was activated. It was due on-site at the shelter in 2 hours with enough cots, blankets and supplies to support the displaced residents. A gymnasium was about to be transformed.

As I listened to their fears at the sudden loss of all their possessions, their stories made a profound impression on me. Differing only in detail, some eyes would tear up while recounting their ordeal. Yet, I remained steadfast in offering hope and reassurance that all was going to be OK. The American Red Cross is here to help, I kept saying.

City officials provided transportation for all those without a place to stay the night, including a dog, a cat, and a canary who went for their first tram ride. 

While acclimating to the new surroundings, the building’s property manager arrived and announced that hotel rooms would be provided for the residents with nowhere else to go. I was moved by such a compassionate decision.

Respite offers accepted, the families were able to spend one night at the shelter with some sense of hope that a new dawn would bring relief and comfort. 

Red Crossers from around South Florida staffed the shelter. Volunteer nurses replenished medications lost in the fire. Meals and snacks were plentiful. In the morning, the residents gathered for coffee and breakfast in the eating area. Even the canary had started singing again.

In the meantime, city officials helped set up a mobile station that furnished IDs and driver’s licenses to those who had lost them in the fire.

At times, it felt like there were too many questions for which we did not have all the answers, but no one was turned away empty-handed. If we didn’t know, we would find someone who’d know. The Red Cross takes pride in that.

At one point, a firefighter came to the shelter looking for one of the building’s residents. He showed me her driver’s license. As it turned out, the Fire Department had found her purse intact in the rubble. He was delivering it in person to the shelter. I identified the woman and, when I last saw them, she was crying while hugging him in gratitude.

Fires, like hurricanes and other disasters, happen.  How you and I reach out to our neighbors in distress is what makes a difference in this world. I choose to make a difference through the American Red Cross.