Inside a Red Cross Response to a Dallas Apartment Fire

By Kay Pinkerton, volunteer contributor

A tenant’s burning candles led to a predawn blaze Saturday, April 12, at the Mayan Palms apartment complex located in Southeast Dallas.  The four-alarm fire consumed 36 apartments, destroying the homes and possessions of more than 50 tenants.

Thankfully, no deaths were reported. 

The American Red Cross was on the scene, offering blankets, safe shelter and emotional support to the fire victims.

A Mayan Palms tenant wrapped herself in a Red Cross blanket after escaping the flames that ripped through her apartment.  Her relative, Virginia Reyez, later searched for the woman’s belongings in the tangled debris of wood, glass and metal -- all that remained of the apartment.  Reyez used the same Red Cross blanket to wrap and protect a surprising find.    

The woman’s jewelry box.

“It’s one of the most valuable things she owns now,” said Reyez.

 Being Grateful

The Red Cross opened a shelter at Samuel Grand Recreation Center after the fire was contained.  There, Red Cross volunteers provided information, support and a listening ear to fire victims who had lost their homes. 

Inside the shelter, Minnie Sessions sat in a row of chairs next to her son and his wife.

"I was asleep, woke up and smelled smoke. And I said, 'I know I ain't cooked,'" recalled Minnie.
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She walked into the living room of her apartment. "I went in there and seen all that smoke," she said. "I grabbed a tub of clothes and drug them out with me."

Minnie's son, Freddie Sessions, admitted he felt overwhelmed by the day’s events. Still, he was grateful for his mother’s life, and appreciated the help and support she had received.

"She didn't have a jacket, and someone gave my mother a jacket,” he said. "There are good people out there.  To see them come out, you know, and help her. To be there for her.”

“I'm very grateful for the Red Cross organization,” said Sessions.

Helping Your Neighbor

Back at the scene of the fire, a young apartment resident surveyed the damage while recalling that morning’s frightening events. 

“I hear all this, this screaming.  ‘Fire!’  I woke my baby up, and we went outside,” said the woman.  “I saw a guy get one person out.  They had to break the fence down to get him out because he was on a cane.”

The woman was saddened by the devastating loss.  

“My apartment’s okay,” she said.  “But our friends?  Our close neighbors are going through this.  And there’s nothing we can do.”

At the Red Cross, there is something we can do. 

Red Cross disaster relief helps victims get back on their feet and resume their lives as quickly as possible. The organization also supports emergency workers, links family members outside the disaster area, and provides blood and blood products to disaster victims. 

For more information about the Red Cross and its services, or to learn how you can help, visit www.redcross.org/dfw.

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Standing on a Bridge on a Saturday Morning

by Jill Bode, volunteer contributor

It was the Saturday morning after Wednesday evening’s horrific explosion at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas. Travelers on I-35 pulled off at the West exit for a kolache breakfast at the Czech Stop. As always, the kolaches were hot and served with a smile—the smiles were wan, but they were smiles, nonetheless. Traffic was heavy as the travelers re-entered the highway and navigated the detours caused by what seemed to be endless construction. Saturday morning traffic was moving well until it suddenly slowed to a maddening crawl. Drivers checked their watches.

Then they came into view ahead. The Waco firefighters, flanked by their fire trucks, lined up on the bridge at Valley Mills, and they stood at quiet attention. West Volunteer Fire Dept. suffered a huge loss this week. The firefighters on the bridge were there to honor their own. 

As the Dallas Fire-Rescue truck and its escorts came into view via the rearview mirrors of the frustrated drivers, they suddenly understood the gravity of the moment. Dallas Fire was rolling into town, headed for the mortuary. They came to claim the body of one of their own. Dallas Fire Capt. Kenneth “Luckey” Harris, 52, who was in West on Wednesday night and responded as a volunteer when he heard the all-call for firefighters at the plant. He died as a result.

The Waco firefighters stood at attention, showing the stoic solidarity that firefighters are famous for when they lose one of their own. A Red Cross relief worker stood on the bridge with them, tears streaming down her face. It was an honor to be there.



We join the rest of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in offering our condolences to the Harris family today, as Captain Harris is laid to rest in West. 

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