Fires an added strain on families, Red Cross
DANBURY — Dave Greaves tried to use the fire extinguisher, but flames soon overwhelmed his son’s apartment.
The family ran out of the two-story house Greaves had called home for seven years. For about two weeks since the blaze, the family had been staying in a hotel, struggling to find a new place to rent.
“With the coronavirus, it’s pretty tough,” said Greaves, who rented an upstairs apartment in the Locust Avenue house. “No one wants to sell you a house. You have to video tour most of the places.”
The search came to an end Friday when the family expected to sign documents to rent a place in Brookfield. Greaves said they planned to move in Saturday.
Greaves’ two sons, one of their girlfriends and his 5-year-old grandson had also rented another apartment in the Locust Avenue house. Two others in the house were also displaced and found a new home, Greaves said.
Greaves and his family are among dozens who have been displaced by fires during the coronavirus pandemic, a time when residents are urged to stay in their homes to stop the spread of the virus.
“It’s (a house fire) a very difficult thing to happen in general,” said Stefanie Arcangelo, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, which assists families after home fires. “In this time, it adds an extra level of stress.”
The American Red Cross responded to 91 house fires in the state and assisted 230 Connecticut families between March 1 and April 15, she said.
Since then, the organization has helped two Danbury families in a Bells Place fire and a Newtown resident in a Riverside Road blaze.
Red Cross still provides the same assistance to families, albeit virtually.
“Emergencies don’t take a break,” Arcangelo said. “In fact, there’s more people at home, so we want to make sure that folks recognize the dangers of home fires.”
Challenges facing families
Many families are already struggling due to layoffs, furloughs, the loss of child care and other challenges brought on by the pandemic, Arcangelo said.
“Having a home fire on top of that, it’s a very difficult thing,” said she said, adding the Red Cross can connect families with mental health care.
Greaves said his family have kept their jobs and maintained the same income during the pandemic.
“I’ve been blessed that way,” said Greaves, who turned 55 on Tuesday. He spent his birthday at his old apartment packing his belongings.
As a property manager for North American Realty, he is considered an essential worker. His oldest son works with him, while his youngest son works at home with computers. His youngest son’s girlfriend cares for their 5-year-old.
But his apartment will take about a year to repair. His son’s and grandson’s bedrooms were destroyed, while the rest of the house sustained smoke damage, Greaves said.
Greaves said he saw many apartments on the market, but faced obstacles like virtual tours in finding a new place.
“It’s just been almost impossible,” he said.
He has a 6-year-old dog — which he did not have the last time he moved — but other than that, nothing had changed.
“I didn’t have any problem renting before, so I don’t know why it’s a problem now,” Greaves said. “I have the same job. I have the same everything.”
He suspects landlords are worried about renting to new people who could lose their jobs due to the pandemic.
“It’s just like they’re afraid to rent,” Greaves said, noting that logic does not quiet check out. “... You’d rather have someone in the house taking care of the house, especially when we’re essential workers.”
Greaves said he has not been worried about getting the virus at the hotel, which has only five other guests staying there as well.
Sometimes families stay in hotels the Red Cross refers them to, while others move in with relatives, Arcangelo said, but the latter might not be possible during the pandemic.
Older people and those with underlying conditions are particularly vulnerable to the virus, while people are supposed to self-quarantine for 14 days if they have it or have symptoms.
Adult children are also home from college, meaning more people need to be housed, Arcangelo said.
New protocols
Volunteers ordinarily meet in-person with families and then provide financial assistance, comfort kits with essentials and an envelope with resources needed for long-term recovery, Arcangelo said.
But since the pandemic, volunteers speak with families on the phone and then drop off or ship the resources.
“We’re doing a virtual response, but making sure that people get what they need,” she said.
Red Cross’ volunteer base skews toward retirement age, and volunteers are given the option to go to house fires in-person and follow safety protocols, Arcangelo said.
“We want them to feel safe and comfortable and confident in delivering our mission,” Arcangelo said.
At one point, Red Cross stopped handing out comfort kits, blankets and stuffed animals because of contamination concerns, but that has since continued, Arcangelo said.
Greaves said he talked to a volunteer on the phone, and then 10 minutes later someone showed up with a credit card to help pay for the hotel.
“It was like they were supposed to be there, like angels there they were,” he said.
The organization gave the family about $1,200, which covered about half of the family’s hotel stay by Wednesday, Greaves said. Some of the money was used for new clothes for his son and grandson, as well as toys for the boy.
The money is intended for immediate needs, such as clothes or a hotel, Arcangelo said.
“We encourage folks to be taking an active role in their own recovery,” Arcangelo said. “They have the option to use it however they want to, but we do stress to everyone that is impacted that this a finite number of resources and this is to help you recover immediately.”
Long search
On Wednesday, Greaves was waiting for a call from the owner of three apartments in Sandy Hook.
“It’s perfect, so hopefully things work out,” he said Wednesday morning. But by Thursday morning, Greaves had not heard from the owner. He said he wasn’t shocked.
“A lot of people just aren’t even calling back,” Greaves said.
Still, he acknowledged his situation could have been 100 times worse. The house could have caught fire at 2 a.m., not 2 p.m., he said.
“As long as we get into another place, and everyone is healthy and safe and I’ve got my family around me, then everything is wonderful,” Greaves said before he found the Brookfield apartment. “That’s all that matters.”