“You never know what life is going to throw your way.” Racing out of the house, Kristy and Ryan were able to take their dog, a leash, and a car. “The house shook hard. It felt like a jet plane taking off.”
After friends visited on Easter Sunday 2013, Ryan and Kristy were preparing for the week ahead. Suddenly Macy, their dog, started barking in a panicked way, grabbing Ryan’s arms, and circling him. Then they saw orange flames shooting outside the bedroom window and heard a loud roar. A propane-fueled fire, which started in a shed on the back porch, quickly engulfed their home in flames and it felt like the whole house could explode any moment.
Kristy, Ryan, and Macy escaped unharmed, but everything was a blur as they called 9-1-1 and ran to alert neighbors. The Ellettsville Fire Department arrived quickly, but flames were already erupting from the windows and parts of the house were collapsing. After extinguishing the main blaze and lingering hot spots, the fire department and insurance told them the house was a total loss. And as Kristy and Ryan walked around, examining the aftermath, it was quickly apparent that every possession they had owned just hours before - except for their birth certificates, passports, and a few pieces of grandma’s china - was destroyed.
Realizing they didn’t have access to cash, credit cards, or basic necessities, and had nothing more than the clothes they were wearing, Kristy and Ryan didn’t know what to do next. But as the emergency crews were packing up, two volunteers arrived from the American Red Cross, a United Way member agency. Kristy remembers the kindness in their voices. “They were caring. The Red Cross volunteers recognized we had just been through a very traumatic experience and were some of the first to ask, ’Are you okay?’ It seems like such a simple question. But it was what was needed right at that moment.”
The Red Cross volunteers gave them water, snacks, and items like toothbrushes, washcloths, and soap. “We sat in their car to warm up and they told us about help that was available and what the next steps were. They gave us a gift card to buy groceries and clothing. Without that card and the help from our neighbors, we wouldn’t have had anything that night. You really start to appreciate the stuff you have, when you have nothing.”
“It was hard for us to accept help. We had money in the bank, but no way to get to it right then. But the volunteers helped us understand that everyone needs help sometime and the Red Cross helps everybody in emergencies, no matter what.”
Although Red Cross offered to help find housing for all three of them, Kristy, Ryan, and Macy were able to stay with a coworker immediately after the fire. Red Cross continued to check in with them for the next 3 weeks to make sure they were getting back on their feet. “Even though we didn’t need a lot of assistance afterwards, it was reassuring to know help was available.”
And today, settled into their new home, as a way to give back Kristy serves on the Red Cross Board of Directors. As a board member, Kristy sees how much goes on behind the scenes at social service agencies to help people in need. “Until you have something like this happen, it’s hard to understand how much your life hangs in the balance. This made me realize how much we all need each other.”
Donors like you create a better tomorrow for Kristy, Ryan, and the thousands of other people in our community with a United Way member agency in their lives.