By Tony Guerra-Disaster Program Manger, Northland and North Star Chapters, American Red Cross
When northeastern Minnesota fire departments respond to house fires, they have a resource at their fingertips which they can utilize to provide assistance to the impacted family. This resource is the American Red Cross.
Comprised of six community chapters, the Northern Minnesota Region serves 4.3 million people in 45 counties in northern Minnesota and three counties in western Wisconsin. The Northland Chapter, one of those community chapters, serves Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, St. Louis and Douglas County, Wisconsin. On an average, the dedicated volunteers of the Northland Chapter respond and assist nearly 120 families which have been displaced from their homes due to fire. When called, the Red Cross can provide emergency assistance; housing, food, clothing and help with medical needs. Referrals are often made to partner agencies to help the family in recovery.
To contact the Red Cross to request assistance for a family, please call 218-722-0071 and our regional dispatchers will contact the nearest available volunteer to respond. After business hours and on weekends, the calls are forwarded to our answering service and they will handle the dispatching. If you are busy on scene, a radio request to your dispatch center will also work.
If you have questions or would like a more detailed Red Cross presentation on our emergency services, please contact me at 218-722-0071 or by e-mail: tony.guerra@redcross.org