Red Cross helps residents of Boulder apartment fire take the first step toward recovery
BOULDER, Colo — A fire alarm sounding before 4 a.m. gave rush of adrenaline, confusion and panic to dozens of people in Boulder. A worst nightmare becoming reality for those in more than 80 apartments.
“By the time I woke up, the flames had already engulfed half of the building. So, yeah, it was surreal,” explained Julian Joyce, a resident at the apartments at 2301 Pearl Street in downtown Boulder.
The fire at the complex, which damaged 83 units, started early in the morning on Tuesday, October 19. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but the fire and smoke forced dozens of people from their homes and in some cases there were reports of residents jumping from the second and third floors.
From those beginning moments when people ran out of their homes, American Red Cross volunteers from the local Disaster Action Team (DAT) were on the scene to help.
“When they come to us, we offer comfort and hope," said Joan Cernich, a volunteer with the American Red Cross. “[We can] be a shoulder to cry on figuratively, or sometimes literally, when we’re not in COVID.”
That comfort also comes in physical forms of meeting basic human needs. From finding a place for someone to stay to providing clothes or a little bit of money, the mostly volunteer-run organization helps fill needs someone might have after a fire.
"So this is money for hotel room, food, necessities basically; water, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and info on replacing or insuring anything that was damaged in the fire,” Joyce said as he showed Rocky Mountain PBS what he received from the Red Cross.
Joyce explained that his immediate plan was to find out if it was possible to get into his apartment to grab anything, even just his wallet. However, the Boulder Fire Department said several structures collapsed and no one is allowed in. Otherwise, Joyce said he had some money from the Red Cross to find a place to stay overnight.
The volunteers with the DAT are on-call 24/7 to respond to fires. They meet with each person individually to figure out what they need. Besides those basic necessities, the Red Cross can also provide immediate mental and emotional help.
“We have mental health volunteers who are also available for that emotional support piece because it is a traumatic event. It may not be something that’s ongoing but just that acute...in this case being woken up in the middle of the night by a fire alarm. Just that adrenaline shock is just really anxiety-provoking for a lot of people.”
As the fire department continues its work on the building and the investigation into the cause of the fire, the Red Cross plays its role to help the community when tragedy strikes.
“Just as much as anything we’re a humanitarian organization here to alleviate human suffering in disasters and we just try to...help with a bad day to make it a little better.”
You can find out ways to help the Colorado chapter of the American Red Cross here.
Brian Willie is the Content Production Manager with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.
Amanda Horvath is a multimedia producer with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at amandahorvath@rmpbs.org.