“People should be very, very happy you’re here.”

After a fire broke out in the basement of 201 East 120th Street in Manhattan the afternoon of April 27, the Red Cross responded to the scene.

Suliman Snipes, who lived on the first floor, heard neighbors shouting ‘fire” and rushed out to safety. Outside, he encountered Red Cross responders almost immediately and was “very, pleasantly surprised.”

Snipes, who didn’t know about local Red Cross disaster response, received temporary housing and met with a caseworker at the Greater New York Regional headquarters in Manhattan for help with his longer-term needs.

“The Red Cross is fantastic,” he said. “Everyone is friendly and very professional. People should be very, very happy you’re here.”