To the editor:
Just weeks after two fatal fires in the southern part of our state, Aroostook County sadly experienced one of our own, when an early morning blaze on Thursday, Nov. 20, cut short the lives of four young people. The devastating news of the losses has shaken our community and serves as a somber reminder of fire’s devastating potential.
If there is a very small positive side, it’s the community response, something we can all be grateful for. Our gratitude begins with the hard-working and selfless first-responders, and to our friends at Subway and Tim Hortons in Caribou, who donated sandwiches, coffee and donuts for them.
Thanks also goes to the team of Red Cross community volunteers who offered support to the victims, family, and friends, as well as our neighbors in greater-Caribou, also to Cary Medical Center who not only took care of those involved in the fire, but housed and fed the immediate and extended family members at the hospital while they were processing this tragedy and waiting for Red Cross to arrive. And finally to Caribou Inn & Convention Center who provided accommodations to our Red Cross Condolence Team and Caseworkers as they helped to meet the needs of the survivors and family members.
I’d like to close with a plea for all readers to take a few minutes to check their smoke alarms and develop an escape plan for the entire family. Let’s work together to prevent another tragedy like the one we saw in Caribou.
Joyce Knorr, community manager
American Red Cross
of Northern and Eastern Maine
