Red Cross Helping Bristol Park Residents Without A Home After Apartment Fire

Nearly 50 people are still without a home Thursday after losing their apartment in a fire near 41st and Garnett in Tulsa.

The moment a fire happens, Red Cross volunteers are called to the scene and while firefighters are working to save lives - the Red Cross is finding ways to rebuild them. In a matter of moments, a fire on Wednesday took away the home of dozens of people in Tulsa.

"Going through a fire is one of the most traumatic events that a person can go through. One minute you have a nice place to live, you’re living there and the next minute everything is gone," said Mathew Hitchcock, a disaster program manager for the Red Cross.

Hitchcock with the Red Cross says in those moments after a fire - Red Cross steps in to help with the road to recovery.

While fire crews were still dousing flames at the Bristol Park Apartments caseworkers and volunteers were working with the apartment managers to find the families of the 16 units that were destroyed or deemed unlivable.

Hitchcock says the Red Cross gave emergency money to those families.

“It’s for a hotel, it can be for clothing, for food, really what their immediate need is," Hitchcock said.

“They were extremely thankful. Every single one of them was just very appreciative of knowing they have a place to go. Especially those with kids. They, some had tears in their eyes. Some were extremely just really thankful for that.”

It's a long, complicated road to recovery - and roughly 50 people are still without homes - but Hitchcock says volunteers have helped lessen the initial blow of losing so much.

"All of them no matter what state they were in when they came and worked with our volunteers, they left with a little more hope," Hitchcock said.

The Red Cross says once that initial money dries up - caseworkers will start helping find the families more permanent housing.