Red Cross assists Cloquet family after house fire

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The Northland Chapter of the American Red Cross provided clothing and food last Wednesday, Sept. 5, for a family of three following a fire Sept. 1 on Jack Pine Drive in Cloquet.

“While the Red Cross often responds to fires at the same time as local fire departments, sometimes clients aren’t home when a fire occurs or they don’t initially realize the extent of their loss,” said Judy Hanne Gonzalez, the chapter’s executive director. “The Red Cross is here to alleviate suffering, and this is just another instance where the Red Cross is helping in a time of need.”

According to the Cloquet Area Fire District website, all three CAFD stations responded at 1:23 p.m. Sept. 1 to a fire located on Jack Pine Drive. Carlton County Dispatch had reported that the home was fully engulfed and that all residents had evacuated.

Upon arrival, CAFD’s Battalion 3 reported that fire was visible from an exterior corner of the house and had extended into the attic space and requested an additional tanker from Carlton Volunteer Fire Department as well. According to the CAFD website, firefighters proceeded to set up one water line at the rear of the structure to extinguish the exterior fire while a second water line was set up at the front entryway of the split level home.

Crews immediately searched both the basement and first floor of the house and reported that all fire was contained to the attic space and that the residence had been cleared.

Shortly after the message was delivered, CAFD command withdrew all interior crews as one corner of the roof was showing signs of collapse, which it did after all crews were outside safely. Crews then switched to a defensive mode until the majority of the roof had collapsed. At that time, the integrity of the first floor was checked and found to be solid with no signs of weakening. All crews returned to service at 4:35 p.m. There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the CAFD.

The Northland Chapter responds to about 100 local disasters annually. Red Cross disaster relief includes emergency housing, food, clothing, medicine and medical supplies, eyeglasses, health services, and disaster counseling. Relief takes the form of preloaded debit cards, which are used in local businesses by clients, thus pumping charitable contributions back into the community it serves.

The Red Cross depends on the support of the American public to assist people affected by disasters. If you would like to help, consider making a donation today by visiting www.redcrossmn.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to your local Northland Chapter of the American Red Cross chapter at 2524 Maple Grove Road, Duluth, MN 55811.

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