As Southern Californians enjoyed the holiday season, the Red Cross was busy assisting families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by fire. During the month of December, the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles assisted 136 people from 43 families.
The following are just some of the incidents the Red Cross responded to during the month of December:
On Dec. 12, an explosion rocked a three-story Canoga Park apartment complex resulting in a fire that left some tenants displaced and others homeless. A shelter was temporarily opened at Canoga Park High School for the first night. The landlord found housing for the residents of the building within the complex and at other locations. A gas leak is suspected as the cause of the explosion.
Red Cross volunteers Faridian Fereydoun (left) and Chris Nevil respond to a house fire in December.
A 45-year-old home in the Lakeview Terrace area was damaged during a fire on Christmas Eve. The Red Cross provided a family of five with comfort and financial assistance.
In addition to helping home fires victims, the Red Cross provided assistance to people displaced for other reasons, including police incidents. On Dec. 14, an armed gunman barricaded himself in a Studio City home causing street closures and neighborhood evacuations. The Red Cross opened a shelter at Weddington Park in Canoga Park to provide temporary accommodations for neighborhood residents unable to return home during the six-hour stand-off.
During 2009, the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles provided financial and other disaster assistance to 1,384 people displaced from their homes.
Photos by Marc Meredith
Tags: holiday home fires
