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Arron Horn said she lost everything in Wednesday morning's apartment fire. "I just feel like one thing after another. Friday I had my car broken into. Now this," she said.
Clothes were burned. Furniture was destroyed.
Horn said, "I make minimum wage. I'm not going to be able to afford nothing."
Her story is echoed throughout the Griffith Garden apartment complex in Central Fresno where 26 other people are counting their blessings just to be alive.
"They don't have their id card. They don't have their social security cards. Many of them don't even have shoes on," said Karen Chisum with Central Valley Red Cross.
Chisum said the Red Cross will spend $1,200 to care for one family. On average the Red Cross helps two families a day in the Valley recover from a fire ... a stretch on their support services.
Chisum said, "This is a larger apartment fire for us this year. We've seen them in the past but for us this is a big one."
Every bit helps. The city of Fresno provided a bus for people to cool off. But for other tenants Wednesday was a waiting game. The only thing the fire claimed from Maria Mendez was her time, and money.
"It's hard because I work nights and I haven't really slept much. And my husband didn't go to work. He lost hours of work," said Mendez.
The property managers are working to place people in vacant units and other complexes nearby. Red Cross said they are actively seeking donations to help families affected by this fire.
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Donations to the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is helping the families displaced in the apartment fire ... but is also requesting financial donations to help the families.
If you would like to get involved, you can call the Central Valley Chapter at 559-455-1000.
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