Thanks to a lot of fires, it's going to be an expensive year for the Red Cross. With one month still to go in its fiscal year, the Quad Cities chapter has already responded to more fires than the previous year.
Spokeswoman Kasey Kelly says the Red Cross helped 143 families during all of last year, but through today, has already helped 145 this year. And eight of those fires have occurred just this month.
When there's a fire, Kelly says their volunteers usually show up within two hours.
"We're going to make sure that family has a place to stay that night, has food, clothing, and emergency medication - basically what can we do to help you get through the next few days. Then we continue to meet with the families and sometimes we provide additional assistance, whether it be a first month's rent or some kind of help as they start the recovery process."
She estimates the Quad Cities chapter spends about $1,100 dollars per family, per fire.
The Red Cross says its best advice is for everyone to have smoke detectors in their homes, and to plan your possible evacuation in case of fire or some other emergency.