Sometimes we take for granted the training we have when it comes to emergency drills and safety. Today while working at one of our volunteer sites, we knew we would be painting and freshening up the living arrangements for families, but our group encountered an even more serious task.
As we finished painting one apartment, we heard a smoke alarm go off in the apartment next to ours. After keeping an eye on the situation, we discovered a fire was in the apartment and immediately evacuated the building. Together our group followed safety protocol to make sure everyone made it out alive. Each member of the group took a role in this emergency situation.
Mackenzie took initiative to pull the building alarm while other members escorted residents of the building outside. Sarah called 9-1-1 right away and others helped take of the children once people were out. Many residents didn't think much of the smoke alarm going off because they thought it was just food or children playing around. Some of them said that they don't know what would've happened if our volunteer group wasn't there to notify them about the fire.
Within 10 minutes, fire trucks were on the scene and fire fighters stormed the building. Smoke and flames were coming from the top of the building and side balconies. Our group stayed with the families and watched the firemen finish their work and kill the fire. No one was injured and all residents made it out safely. The only fatality was the dog in the apartment where the fire started. After about an hour and the fire was extinguished, we learned the fire started by a resident who tossed her cigarette onto the balcony, but the wind blew it into building.
When we first started working here, we knew the women were working to learn skills like cooking and personal finance, but we didn't even think about how they might not have emergency training. Even we get jaded by fire alarms because we think its burnt popcorn or mac 'n cheese, but in this case it was a real fire that affected many people's homes - homes intended to help them get back on their feet.
Tomorrow we will continue our painting in the apartments and see the damage to the building. Our group is working to see what we can to do help the families after the fire. We will keep you updated on our volunteer work as we continue this week!
*We didn't want to disclose the location of the people we were working with today, but we did include pictures from painting and our afternoon in Minneapolis!
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