“The Red Cross gave me the best treatment of my life.”

On a cold night in December, Dennis Ryan, a resident on Elmhurst, New York, awoke to the buzzing of his apartment bell. When he opened his door, whoever had buzzed was gone. To Dennis’s surprise, “In came black and grey smoke like you wouldn’t believe.”

Dennis started to choke. He rushed to the window and drew a breath of fresh air, then ran out into the hallway and down six flights of stairs through the heavy smoke. As Dennis ran, he banged so hard on sleeping neighbors’ doors that he broke his knuckle. “I saved three people from three different apartments,” he said with pride.

After his escape, Red Cross responders took Dennis to the reception center the Chapter had opened at a nearby school. There, they gave him sandwiches and coffee, funds for replacement food and clothing, and arranged for an emergency stay at a local hotel. “What these people do is amazing,” said Dennis of the Red Cross. “They do it from the goodness of their hearts one hundred percent.”

Subsequently, Dennis came to Chapter headquarters in Manhattan where he worked one-on-one with a Red Cross caseworker, who referred him to an agency that could help him secure longer-term housing. “The Red Cross gave me the best treatment of my life,” said Dennis. “I want to thank everyone from the Red Cross who helped me.”

Dennis Ryan, Elmhurst, NY

“When Red Cross arrived, I realized we weren’t in this alone.”

SoYeon Lee came to the U.S. in 2004 from her home in India to attend college in Ohio. After receiving her degree, she took a job with a financial research firm in New York and an apartment in upper Manhattan with her younger sister, SaRang. With a job in a down economy, SaRang in graduate school at Teachers College and an apartment they liked, SoYeon felt that she and her sister “Really had it together and were off to a good start as young adults.” The last thing she expected was to be displaced by a fire.

But that’s exactly what happened one frigid winter night in the middle of one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record in New York City. SoYeon, SaRang and a friend from out of town were up late talking, and got to bed around 1 a.m. SaRang, however, was unable to sleep; she thought she smelled something she described as “toxic.” At 3:30 a.m. she rose from bed, opened the apartment door and was greeted by a wall of smoke in the hallway. SaRang immediately woke SoYeon and their friend, told them to put on their coats and boots, and hustled them down the fire escape. As they clambered down four flights to safety in the biting night air, they knocked on neighbors’ windows to alert them to the danger.

Firefighters soon arrived. SoYeon, SaRang, their friend and neighbors tried to keep their spirits up as they watched the blaze being extinguished. Soon, two Red Cross relief workers drove up, ready to provide comfort and assistance. “When Red Cross arrived, I realized we weren’t in this alone,” said SoYeon. “It was great knowing that support is there for you when you’re feeling so lost.”

Red Cross deemed the apartment uninhabitable due to fire and water damage. (The blaze had started in the unit directly below SoYeon’s.) SoYeon didn’t know her rights as a tenant in the aftermath of the fire—what the landlord was obligated to take care of and what she and her sister needed to do. “The Red Cross answered those questions,” she said. “We survived the fire, that’s one phase. But so much more comes after the fire.”

SoYeon and SaRang received on-the-spot emergency financial assistance from the Red Cross to replace burned clothing and to buy food. Later that week, SoYeon visited Chapter headquarters, where she met with a Red Cross caseworker who provided further information and support. “More important than anything is the information we received,” she said. “Learning our rights in this situation means more than money.”

SoYeon Lee, from Manhattan

“The Red Cross was very humane.”

Jesus Figueroa

Jesus Figueroa, who is from Boston by way of Puerto Rico, has spent the past two years in New York with his wife and 10-year-old son during his son’s treatment for cancer at a NY hospital. Until nine months ago, when they moved to a basement apartment on McKinley Avenue in Brooklyn, the Figueroas had struggled to find affordable housing that would allow them to remain in New York. They had moved often, one time to temporary housing provided by Ronald McDonald House, an organization which assists families with children being treated for health issues.

The McKinley Avenue apartment represented a safe haven, where the Figueroas hoped to remain until their son completed his treatment in 2012. But recently, water began to leak through the ceiling, ruining the family’s TV. Jesus, who works as a delivery man and also volunteers at Ronald McDonald House, asked his landlord to fix the ceiling. When the landlord refused, Jesus brought the matter to court. An inspector subsequently visited the Figueroa home; he told a surprised Jesus that the apartment was illegal and had to be vacated—the very next day.

“I didn’t know where to turn for help,” said Jesus. Then, on the morning of the vacate, Red Cross relief workers appeared at his door. “Red Cross explained everything that was going on,” said Jesus. “And they put us up at a hotel.” The Red Cross also gave the family a stipend for food and described every step they would need to take going forward.

“If the Red Cross hadn’t been there, I would have had to go home to Boston,” said Jesus, who moved with his family into long-term housing provided by the Housing Preservation Department and can now remain in New York during his son’s treatment. “The Red Cross was very humane.”

Jesus Figueroa from Brooklyn

"The Red Cross gave us blankets, socks and something to eat … all the things we needed.”

Heather Curley, her two daughters and her boyfriend were sound asleep when they awoke to their dog barking and whining loudly at the door of her third floor Bronx apartment. When she went to quiet the dog, Heather saw flames on the other side of the door and smoke starting to pour into the apartment. The next thing she knew, she and her family were climbing down the fire escape to the first floor and out to safety. (Their dog also made it out okay.)

With the Fire Department and the Red Cross already on the scene, Heather looked up at her apartment and was shocked. “Everything was burnt,” she said. “It was crazy; everyone was outside in their pajamas, and they were cold. The Red Cross gave us blankets, socks and something to eat. They provided shelter for us to stay warm ... and all the things we needed.”

After coming to the Red Cross headquarters in Manhattan, Heather and her family were fed and met one-on-one with a caseworker to determine their next steps. Red Cross provided them with emergency housing and given financial assistance to help get them back on their feet. Heather said, “I’ve never experienced anything like this before; it was a dreadful experience, but the Red Cross really helped out.”

Heather Curley from Bronx, NY

With your generous support, you help mobilize direct relief and comfort year round—to people like Heather Curley, across the country and around the world. You're also a foundation for our readiness work – helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to life's emergencies.

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We love you guys.

The night after the Blizzard of 2010, Frank Favilla and his wife Aabye-Gayle heard a commotion outside their apartment and realized their building on Judge Street in Queens was on fire. They fled, wearing just sneakers, pajamas and overcoats, then watched for almost an hour in the frigid cold as a 5-alarm blaze ripped through the building. Although their unit was not burnt, it suffered enormous damage as firefighters broke windows and walls in order to reach the burning apartment above them.

The next day, the couple, who had spent the night at the home of a family member, followed the advice of an uncle of Frank’s who has worked for the Red Cross—they returned to their apartment and registered with the organization. “My uncle said we could get our immediate needs for food, clothing and possibly shelter met,” said Frank. “And that if we had any questions, we could ask the Red Cross.”

In fact, Frank and Aabye-Gayle had many questions, among them, “What help is available?” “Whom should we call?” “Where should we go?” and “What documentation must we bring with us?”

“Our caseworker told us what next steps to take and who to speak to,” said Aabye-Gayle. “And that anyone who had questions should call her and she would speak on our behalf.” The couple, who received emergency funds for food, said they were very pleased with the Red Cross.

“We love you guys,” said Aabye-Gayle, who trained at the Red Cross in CPR and AED this past summer. “I didn’t know what specific crises you guys addressed, but that you help when people are displaced.” Frank added, “It’s comforting to know that there’s not a question we can’t ask when we need help.”