Canadian Red Cross volunteers recently responded to a house fire in Innisfil, Ontario that affected one of our Twitter followers, Sandra Brunner. Our volunteers respond to personal disasters like this one across the country, and so we asked Sandra to share her family's experience.
*Guest blog by Sandra Brunner (aka @Wallabina on Twitter).
On March 26, I received a call from my sister-in-law, Chris. Her first words were “Don't worry, everyone's okay. I just want to tell you there was a fire and that our house burned down.”
The shock and disbelief continued to roll through me as I learned what had happened. The fire started in the garage, and, we later learned, was caused by a short circuit. My brother Darryl was in the house, along with my 89-year-old father, my 9-year-old nephew, Noah, his friend and the dog, Trout.
It was a knock on the door that saved their lives. Their neighbour had seen the smoke and came to the door to get them all out of the house.
My family watched as everything they owned went up in flames.
Word spread quickly that there had been a fire. And almost as quickly as the house was destroyed, people began showing up with food, clothes, money, offers of furniture. It’s been incredible to witness the almost boundless support that the community, including the Red Cross, has given my 
family.
The Red Cross was there the day after the fire, ready to help out. They provided enough funds for Chris to go shopping and purchase shoes and a set of clothes for everyone, as well as bedding and pillows. Chris is a fabulous, economical shopper and came in $250 under the allotted budget. She gave the remaining funds back and asked that they go to someone else in need.
One week later and the family has a temporary home that they'll stay in until their own house is rebuilt. A neighbour has organized a list of everything they'll need and is over-seeing the community donations.
My family's outlook is inspiring. They mourn the loss of their treasures – pictures, trophies, family heirlooms. But, they're thankful no one was hurt – including the firemen. They're humbled by the incredible amount of love and support from the community.
I never thought that anyone I personally knew, here in Canada, would need the help of the Red Cross. And I can't imagine what my family would be facing without the support of the community and organizations like the Red Cross.
I have always been grateful that the Red Cross existed and was ready to step in to provide help when international disasters occur. I am even more grateful to them now that they were immediately available to help out my family.