READING, Pa. — Crews faced flames Friday on North 10th Street in Reading. Now, families face a different emergency: finding somewhere to stay and replacing what they lost.
“Our goal with the immediate response to a fire is to make sure people have a place to stay, access to food and a feeling of safety,” said Peter Brown, executive director of the American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter.
The Red Cross is helping 32 people from the fire. That’s on top of about 26 people helped after the recent fire on Oct. 11 in the 600 block of North 9th Street.
“But it was very surprising and really unfortunate to have two fires in Reading in such close proximity and involving so many families,” Brown said.
Volunteers ask: What did you lose? What do you need? They help replace essentials, like medicine and glasses.
“With the current housing shortage in Berks County, for many of our families, finding the next place to live after a fire is one of the most challenging parts of their recovery,” Brown said.
And that help continues long afterward.
“It’s not unusual for a caseworker to work with a family for 30, 60 or even 90 days, depending on the number of needs that they have,” Brown said.
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