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Polk Chapter Of Red Cross Reports Surge In Fire Aid To Families

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

TAMPA - This past weekend alone, the Polk County chapter of the American Red Cross responded to three house fires to help families in need.

The chapter has been far busier in the past 12 months than in the previous year. It helped 207 families from July 1 to June 30, and the majority of those were fire victims.

That's a 68-family increase in service compared with the previous year, Red Cross spokesman Phil Attinger said.

Attinger could not explain the statistical increase, but he said there are many things people can do to make their homes safer.

"Have working, fully charged smoke detectors and working, fully charged fire extinguishers, two escape plans for every room -- and don't go back into a burning building."

The Red Cross only responds to house fires when residents or firefighters call for help.

"If a family needs temporary shelter, we can provide that," Attinger said. "If the family needs assistance replacing clothes or food so it can get back up on its feet, we can assist on that as well. We have cleanup kits so people can clean up their house. We're going to be there to assist if anybody needs assistance."

People in Polk or Highlands counties who have emergency needs can contact the chapter at (863) 294-5941.

To learn more about fire safety, go to www.redcross.org.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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