Disasters come in all shapes and sizes...

Last night I was dispatched with other Red Cross volunteers out to a collapsed building call. While fires are our most common disasters we respond to, we will respond to any disaster where people are displaced from their homes as was the case last night.

Upon arrival, I spoke with the fire department to get an assessment of what happened and learned a chimney had collapsed causing damage to 3 apartments in an 18 unit building. This was one of the disasters you wonder how nobody got seriously hurt. It turns out that residents of 2 of the 3 affected apartments were not home and thank goodness for that! If you saw the damage in the top and middle apartments you would be amazed to learn that nobody got seriously hurt! 

I spoke with the resident of the middle apartment who was home when the chimney collapsed. She and her daughter were watching tv in the living room. She was sitting on the couch and her daughter was sitting on the floor in front of her painting her toe nails. Without any warning the chimney collapsed into the apartment from the unit above. The mom said she reacted immediately and despite not being able to see her daughter in the rubble she reached forward and was able to reach her daughter and pull her free. Again, if you saw the damage you would be shaking your head wondering how they made it out without getting hurt beyond just a few scratches. When we walked through the building to do our damage assessment with the fire department, fire fighters commented how fortunate the mother and daughter were and how glad they were the residents of the other 2 apartments weren't home at the time of the collapse. 

I worked with the mother to get her and her daughter assistance with food, clothing and a place to stay. She was quite shaken and her daughter even more so which is very understandable. She wasn't sure if they would stay in the apartment complex or move elsewhere. She was concerned her daughter might experience nightmares from the trauma. That's something I understand all to well so we discussed ways to cope. 

Residents in the entire building would need to find another place to stay throughout the weekend until the building was evaluated structurally to determine if it is safe to live in. Structural engineers would be there on Monday to do the assessmnt. All in all, the Red Cross assisted 6 families with food and a place to stay until Monday. On Monday residents will meet with Red Cross case workers to assess their further needs.

Here are a couple pics from the scene:

I am so grateful nobody was seriously hurt and we were able to assist families in need. Thank you to Overland Park Fire, Merriam Fire and Merriam Police for assisting the Red Cross so we could assist those who needed our services!