Red Cross volunteers stay busy Coast to Coast with fires

(Daytona Beach) October 26, 2009 – Disaster volunteers stayed busy this past weekend.

Not only did volunteers with Florida’s Coast to Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross have two fires in Volusia County, there was another fire in Hernando County on the west coast of Florida, which is also a part of the seven-county chapter.

• In Daytona Beach, a fire on Sandra Avenue destroyed a home and displaced two adults. Volunteers provided them with temporary shelter and assistance to obtain food and clothing.
• On Sunday evening, volunteers in Brooksville responded to a single family fire on Mina Avenue that had displaced two adults. Once again, Red Cross volunteers provided temporary shelter and assistance to obtain food and clothing.
• A third fire over the weekend on Lackland Drive in Deltona also displaced two residents. As of Monday afternoon, casework for that fire was still pending.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is provided free of charge, thanks to voluntary donations of time and money from the community.

This past weekend’s single-family fires were among many throughout the Mid-Florida Region during one of the first weekends of fall and winter temperatures, including two in Polk County on Saturday and a several-unit condominium fire in Kissimmee on Sunday night that displaced 13 families and 30 people.

We are entering the fall and winter seasons in Florida, when people will begin heating their homes more often.  During this time, fires increase because the potential is there for home fires either from damaged central heating or damaged or misused portable space heaters.  Please take fire safety precautions this season.  Read up on fire prevention tips at www.midfloridaredcross.org.