Chapter executive director John Hirsh said that some of the fire victims were housed at the Sun Palace Hotel and will be staying there until tomorrow.
“Three rooms were occupied by some of the victims at the Sun Palace, while three individuals are staying at the Red Cross shelter until Friday,” Hirsh said.
“The clients are all doing well, although they are still traumatized by the fire. The Red Cross is working with other community partners to help meet emergency their needs,” he added.
Hirsh said in addition to shelter and food, Red Cross has provided clothing, bedding, linens, school supplies, shoes and other critically needed items.
Some of the fire victims told Variety that they were not given any assistance although they went to the Red Cross after the fire on Friday afternoon.
“We also lost our belongings from the fire, and now we are only staying with friends,” two of the victims said.
Hirsh said the Red Cross goes all out to serve and help those who are in need.
He said case workers are assigned to interview families who lost their houses and belongings.
Case workers will assess how much the families lost and will ask the clients to answer a set of questions as to if they lived in the house, for how long, and other questions to determine the instant needs.
If, for example, the victims told the case workers that they did not live in the burned structure, the victims can still file claims with the insurance providers but Red Cross will provide for emergency assistance only.
Hirsh said he has already talked to the case workers to resolve the issue.
The bushfire started on Friday on Tun Joaquin Doi Road and spread to the neighboring structures, razing two auto shops and burning several households. The brushfire reached As Perdido Road and firefighters finally contained it on Saturday.
