American Red Cross fire alarm saves North Las Vegas family of 7

An American Red Cross smoke alarm rang in a North Las Vegas home at 10:30 at night when the homeowner realized clouds of smoke were filling the house from the door that leads into the garage. Cherise Coleman, the homeowner and UNLV graduate student, placed the back of her hand out and felt the warmth of the roaring fire happening on the other side of the door.

“‘You better not open that door!’” Coleman said her mom yelled at her. She immediately pulled everyone out of harm’s way, including her 12-year-old daughter who was in the shower.

The Colemans escaped unharmed from the fire because of a smoke alarm installed by the Red Cross a few years ago. On Sept. 24, a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet that Coleman had issues with throughout the years started the fire in her garage that night.

“If (not for) the Red Cross installing additional fire alarms, we don’t know if we would’ve made it out that night,” Cherise Coleman said. “It’s because of them, they saved our lives.”

The Red Cross came to her home a few years ago and replaced batteries and installed five additional smoke alarms, including the alarm that rang first in September.

Coleman was recommended by a neighbor to be a part of the Sound the Alarm program in which the Red Cross installs smoke alarms in people’s homes at no cost. Since the program launched in October 2014, the campaign says it has saved nearly 1,400 lives nationwide by helping families create escape plans, installing free smoke alarms and providing education about fire safety.

“Most people don’t realize they only have two minutes to escape a home fire,” Rachel Flanigan, executive director of the American Red Cross Southern Nevada Chapter, said in a press release. “And smoke alarms need to be replaced every 10 years.”

When everyone ran out of the home, Coleman’s daughter Rhyan Pitts, 12, was still in the shower next to the garage fire. Coleman and her mother ran in, wrapped Pitts in a towel and took her out of the house, and 911 was called.

Coleman remembered that every minute felt like an eternity during the traumatic event. The flames flickered in the windows when the Fire Department arrived in less than five minutes to extinguish the flames, but the true destruction of the home was yet to reveal itself.

“Home fires can leave a family devastated and in need of immediate assistance,” Flanigan said. “Our Disaster Action Team members provide emotional support, access to financial assistance and valuable information to help families begin to recover.”

As 7-year-old Rhylee Pitts and her sister watched their home from the outside, they asked their mom if they were homeless now. With no immediate answer available, the Red Cross Disaster Action Team responded as the first line of recovery hours later by getting the family a place to stay. One volunteer gave each of the daughters a teddy bear to comfort them as Coleman was busy.

“When (the daughters’) fabulous mom came out, she said, ‘The Red Cross saved us,’” Nikki Morachnick, a Red Cross DAT supervisor said.

It’s common for Morachnick to arrive at the aftermath of a home fire where people lose everything and don’t have a place to stay. That’s why the Red Cross exists, to help those suffering from a disaster, even on a local level, she said.

The Red Cross got the Coleman family two hotel rooms for at least two nights, all provided through donations to the organization.

The aftermath

Coleman was informed that although the fire was just in the garage, because of the toxic nature of soot exposure, almost everything in the home had to be dumped as it was considered not salvageable. The fire ripped through the inside of the walls and even reached the second floor’s attic because it had started as an electrical fire, according to Coleman.

“The couches, the floor, the fan, everything,” she said. “The soot spread through the whole home, so the whole home has to be demolished and rebuilt.”

When Coleman walked through the rubble of what was left of the garage, soot covered it. Above her was a hole in the ceiling where the fire had torn through and nearly entered the bedroom above the garage. Coleman had a 2011 Toyota Sequoia that was totaled in the fire. One-half of a suitcase above the shelves, where the electrical fire started, melted with droplets solidifying as they fell. Luckily for the family, a propane tank withstood the high temperatures of the fire.

‘Thank God I’m financially stable’

Dealing with the insurance company proved one of the biggest issues for Coleman.

“When you’re dealing with an event like this, you have a lot of challenges with the insurance company,” Coleman said.

The adjustable living expense coverage that Coleman had with her insurance was the standard policy that her agent recommended to her. She said she wished her insurance agent would have told her about just paying an extra $5 a year to max out her plan at roughly $100,000 over her current plan. She said she hopes other people will call their insurance companies to double-check their coverage plans.

“Thank God I’m financially stable, I have resources and friends to help me out,” Coleman said. “But the average family, they don’t have that.”

According to Coleman, the insurance company has required her to show proof of every dime she’s spent before reimbursing her, and there is still some money that she hasn’t received.

The insurance company will be covering the expense of the rebuild, Coleman said, but she noted, “Insurance companies need to do better.”

Morachnick advised Las Vegas renters to get renter’s insurance.

“Renter’s insurance is not as expensive as people think it is,” Morachnick said.

Flanigan said Red Cross staff and volunteers last year helped more than 1,200 Clark County residents whose homes were destroyed or damaged by fire.

Residents interested in fire prevention assistance can visit SoundTheAlarm.org/Nevada to schedule an appointment for a free smoke alarm installation.

An appointment involves a 20-minute home visit during which Red Cross volunteers also share information on home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan.

“Be proactive and not reactive,” Coleman said. “Contact the Red Cross, it’s so worth it, and if any organization deserves your trust and support, it definitely is the Red Cross.”

Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0350. Follow @jimi_writes on Twitter.