Paul Muschick: How to ‘open our arms’ to Allentown row home fire victims

Morning Call (Allentown, PA)

Oct. 23--"Everything is gone."

That's what Giovanni Ramos said Sunday while sitting on a bus parked not far from his burned-out home, one of 10 destroyed by a fire that engulfed a block of North Fountain Street in Allentown.

Think about that for a minute. Everything is gone.

No clothes. No phone. No car keys. No wallets, purses, cash, credit cards. No birth certificates, insurance papers, Social Security cards. No toys. No furniture. Nothing.

Ramos, his wife and their three children are among 30 people that have been left homeless by from the fire, a block from the intersection of North 9th and Tilghman streets. They must rebuild their lives from scratch. It's going to be a challenge, for sure.

The entire city should help them get back on their feet.

It's going to be harder for some. Most of those left homeless are renters and not all of them had renters insurance, said Peter Brown, executive director of the Lehigh Valley-Bucks chapter of the American Red Cross.

A lot of people and organizations have stepped up to help.

Tuesday afternoon, the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and the Red Cross announced the creation of the Fountain Street Fire Fund.

Donations can be made at unitedwayglv.org/firefund; by texting "FOUNTAINSTREET" to 71777; or by mail in care of the United Way, Attention Fountain Street Fire Fund, 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown PA 18109.

The agencies prefer cash and gift cards, as donations of food, clothing and household items aren't easy to manage. Funds raised by the United Way will be distributed to the Community Action Committee and Red Cross to disperse.

Forty-seven people in 13 families were impacted by the fire, which amazingly didn't injure or kill anyone. That total includes people living adjacent to the burned-out row, who were temporarily displaced during the blaze and subsequent demolition.

Organizations including I Am Reciprocity have been collecting clothing, furniture, toiletries and other items for them. Items will be accepted through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 1329 W. Hamilton St. That's the headquarters of I Am Reciprocity, a consulting business for nonprofits and community outreach.

Founder and CEO Luis Perez said donations streamed in Monday after a plea on Spanish radio station La Mega.

"We had people coming from Reading, from Lancaster, all over the place," Perez said. "We're literally almost to the ceiling."

The Red Cross, United Way and Community Action Committee have experience working together on tragedies because, sadly, this isn't the first time a block of Allentown has been wiped out.

In February 2011, an explosion and fire leveled eight row homes less than a mile away, on North 13th Street. Five people died.

More than $185,000 was collected and dispersed within a few months. Thirty-five families got compensation, including people whose homes weren't involved in the explosion, but which were damaged by the force of the blast.

That outpouring was "impressive," said Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee. He said Tuesday that he hopes this initiative can do even better. He said $200,000 "would go a long way."

"Every one of us, I think, can understand how disruptive and how disastrous this kind of loss can be," Jennings said at a news conference where the fundraising effort was announced.

Donations are coming inhave been made, with a combined $6,000 from City Center Allentown, Alvin H. Butz Inc. and the Andre Reed Foundation, said David Lewis, United Way president.

Every penny that is donated will go to the fire victims, as the agencies won't spend any on their costs, he said.

"It's critically important that we collaborate on this relief effort, because we don't want people to get their assistance based on luck or by some kind of prejudgment," Jennings said. "We want to do it in a systematic way."

He said a public accounting will be made, to the level possible without violating victims' privacy, so people can be confident that donations reached those who needed them. A lot of the donations likely will help with rent, Jennings predicts, because the cost of housing is the biggest problem facing the victims.

"These families are all lower-income people, which means that their ability to afford housing in this market is challenged," he said.

At the news conference, there were repeated mentions about how the families lost all of their belongings.

While they may think they lost everything, Jennings noted, they still have something.

"Actually, if you think about it, they have us. They have us. All of us. Each and every one of us. We can collectively open our arms, take them in, hug them tight and give hope."

Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or [email protected]

-- Allentown row home fire

-- how to help Allentown fire victims

-- Red Cross

-- donations

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