Nikita Johnson at the CFSBC office Photo courtesy of Nikita Johnson
A home fire is one of the many unthinkable, tragic events that cause massive disruptions to the lives of those affected. While these tragedies are often preventable, an American Red Cross survey demonstrated that the majority of Americans are more unprepared to survive a home fire than they believe. This is why the partnership between the Red Cross and the Community Foundation of San Benito County (CFSBC), which started back in 2019, is so integral to protecting communities against home fires.
“I truly feel honored to share my story to maybe help just one person!”
Kathie Reinholds of Brentwood is a big believer in “paying it forward.” More than 50 years ago, as a teenager in Hayward, she won an award for her volunteer work with the American Red Cross. Decades later, the Red Cross was able to pay Kathie back for her selfless work – not once, but twice!
Kathie’s home in Paradise, Calif., before it was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018.
On November 8, 2018, Kathie was sound asleep in her home in Paradise, California. She lived alone, having lost her husband Gary four years earlier. What happened to her that morning is what she calls “a story and a half.”
“Something woke me up and I thought it was the middle of the night,” says Kathie. “I looked at my phone and it was 8 a.m. Normally I would roll over, but something pushed me up. I like to think it was my husband, my guardian angel.”
Kathie ran outside and found a strange scene.
The eerie glow from the Camp Fire on the morning of November 8, 2018.
“I was up on a hill and overlooked everything. It was the weirdest red sky. I thought it was a cool sunrise.”
What she saw was the smoke and flames from the Camp Fire, which raced through Paradise that morning, killing 85 people and destroying much of the town.
“We had no system in place to learn that there was a fire. All the emergency towers burned down; it just spread so fast.”
Kathie credits a neighbor for saving her life.
“She called me and said, ‘Get out now, kiddo!’”
Kathie managed to throw a few things into her car but could not find her cat and had to leave her behind. She drove through the burning town, sitting in gridlock, then on to Chico, Sacramento, and finally Lodi, where she met up with her grown children.
The burnt remains of Kathie’s Paradise home.
Kathie was able to return to Paradise the following month but found her home had burned to the ground and her cat had disappeared.
“It was horrible,” she says, choking up. “That same month I almost died. I had a heart attack. I think I’m on maybe my fourth life,” Kathie says, laughing through her tears. “I don’t know how many ‘Get Out of Jail’ cards I get but I’ve used quite a few!”
Kathie says she received financial help from FEMA and from the Red Cross. “They also had a table for travel-sized personal needs that became a staple in part of my many trips to Paradise and recreating my life.”
Kathie finally was able to create that new life for herself at a mobile home park in Brentwood in Contra Costa County. “I couch surfed for several months and moved five times before I landed the house in Brentwood. This experience either makes you humble and grateful or angry. I choose humble!”
Red Cross volunteers installing free smoke alarms in Kathie’s Brentwood community.
Five years after that devastating wildfire, Kathie once again connected with the American Red Cross. Volunteers with the Red Cross Sound the Alarm program came to her mobile home park this April to install free smoke alarms for residents.
Kathie says, “I was so thrilled. My ceilings are really high. I’m thinking, ‘how I am I going to do this?’”
The volunteer crews put in several new smoke alarms in her home. When they learned she was hard of hearing, they arranged for another crew to return and install a “bed shaker” alarm. This specialized device includes a vibrating pad that can be placed under a pillow or mattress. The bed shaker connects to other alarms in a home and features a strobe light that can rouse people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Now, Kathie tells us she feels much safer in her new home. “Oh yes, absolutely! I know at any time, anything can happen, when you least expect it, I know it. I will be forever grateful to the Red Cross.”
Kathie still believes in the Red Cross values she learned in high school and the lessons from the Camp Fire. “I have a ‘pay it forward closet.’ That closet contains a rotating supply of pots, pans, linens and other items for people in need. “Everyone should have one!”
To learn more about preparing for a home or wildfire, visit redcross.org/prepare.
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