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St. Nicholas/St. Mary’s fourth grade class learns Pennsylvania history

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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; A house fire can be devastating. Enter the American Red Cross.</p><p>Dave Skutnik, regional communications manager for American Red Cross Eastern Pennsylvania, explained the process for helping displaced families lasts well beyond the time of the initial crisis.</p><p>Skutnik said each year, the American Red Cross responds to about 70,000 disasters and &#8220;most of them are house fires.&#8221;</p><p>Skutnik explained the agency&#8217;s involvement starts at the time of a fire, when fire departments notify it about a family in need.</p><p>Once on the scene, American Red Cross officials touch base with those affected and check their state of mind. Given the tragic nature of a house fire, Skutnik added officials often provide shoulders for victims to cry on.</p><p>&#8220;That (fire) can be a very shocking affair,&#8221; Skutnik said.</p><p>American Red Cross officials then work with local hotels to find lodging for those affected. Many local hotels that work with the American Red Cross make it possible for the displaced to check in late into the night.</p><p>Officials also try to find lodging for the displaced close to their homes.</p><p>&#8220;It is up to each resident,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They can make the ultimate decision on where they want to stay.&#8221;</p><p>Skutnik said agreements with local hotels is verbal in nature and lodgings are paid &#8220;100 percent&#8221; by donations from the community.</p><p>&#8220;Even when there&#8217;s not that headline-making disaster in the news, that&#8217;s why we continually need the support,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>Fire in Kingston Monday</strong></p><p>Ed Kotarski was getting ready to have lunch when a fire sparked in his double-block home Monday and displaced seven residents.</p><p>Crews were dispatched at 1:16 p.m. to the double-block residence of 8-10 Pulaski St. for a reported residential structure fire. Kingston Fire Chief Frank Guido said crews arrived to find heavy fire and smoke near the rear of the residence.</p><p>Firefighters were seen breaking windows throughout the residence, which enabled smoke to billow into the neighborhood.</p><p>Kotarski, 66, is the landlord of the residence and lives at 8 Pulaski St. He explained he and his wife, Marlene, 68, had returned from a funeral and Marlene went out for breakfast. He heard a dog bark, but thought the barking was aimed at a mail carrier.</p><p>As he got ready to get something to eat, he noticed the smoke.</p><p>&#8220;The smoke became really intense, super intense,&#8221; Kotarski said. &#8220;My fire alarms were going off all over the place.&#8221;</p><p>Kotarski tried to enter his cooking area, but was unable to due to the smoke. He also tried to open his tenant&#8217;s door with a key, but was unable to.</p><p>He eventually made his way outside, where he called 911.</p><p>Guido said the fire appears to have originated at 10 Pulaski St. and added nobody was inside that part of the building at the time of the fire. Kotarski said a couple, two teenage girls and a baby live on that side of the building.</p><p>A visibly emotional woman with a small baby was seen outside.</p><p>Guido said the side of the building where the fire started has substantial fire damage, while Kotarski&#8217;s side sustained primarily water and smoke damage. He said the building could probably be repaired, but added it would be a &#8220;big job.&#8221;</p><p>The fire remains under investigation and the Pennsylvania State Fire Marshal will investigate, Guido added. No injuries were reported.</p><p>Monday&#8217;s fire marked the second residential structure fire in Kingston over the past few days. On Saturday, a <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/514803/investigation-continues-into-kingston-fire-that-displaced-11-people" target="_blank">residential structure fire displaced 11 people from a residence at 89 W. Union St..</a></p><p><strong>A home amid a tragedy</strong></p><p>Kotarski said he suffers from various ailments that require him to take a variety of medications daily. As he sat on the porch of a neighbor&#8217;s residence, his wife rubbed his back as he shivered due to the day&#8217;s chill.</p><p>He worried not only about his own medical needs, but also where he and his wife would go.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know where we&#8217;re going to stay,&#8221; he said, but added he has homeowners insurance on the building.</p><p>An official from the American Red Cross was dispatched to the scene to provide assistance to the residents.</p><p><strong>Additional support</strong></p><p>Those displaced by fires are given more support aside from lodging in the immediate aftermath.</p><p>Skutnik explained financial assistance is offered for clothing. He said the American Red Cross doesn&#8217;t hold clothing drives and the financial assistance enables them to get the clothing &#8220;right then and there&#8221; and get what they want.</p><p>He added the amount given varies on a case-by-case basis, ranging from the size of the family to how many children are in the family.</p><p>The American Red Cross also works with other community organizations to get residents additional resources as they recover. For example, Skutnik said his agency offers a number of counseling services, from dealing with the trauma of the fire to additional financial resources.</p><p>&#8220;We also have a great relationship with a number of landlords in the area,&#8221; he said, adding it helps get residents into an apartment as they determine their next move.</p><p>Skutnik credited those relationships throughout the community &#8212; as well as community support &#8212; for helping the American Red Cross to help those who need it most when disaster strikes.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really about cultivating and maintaining these relationships,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re definitely a community organization, but we can&#8217;t do it alone.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Volunteers for the disaster relief team organize the disaster room at the Red Cross Monday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316redcross1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Volunteers for the disaster relief team organize the disaster room at the Red Cross Monday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316redcross2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dave Skutnik describes what the Disaster Relief vehicles are stocked with prior to going to a scene. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316redcross2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dave Skutnik describes what the Disaster Relief vehicles are stocked with prior to going to a scene. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A firefighter is seen through the broken windows leaving the fire scene on Pulaski street in Kingston as another enters. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire3-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>A firefighter is seen through the broken windows leaving the fire scene on Pulaski street in Kingston as another enters. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Smoke billows out of a double block at 8-10 Pulaski St. in Kingston Monday. Crews battled the blaze that displaced seven residents. Firemen from Edwardsville and Kingston handle a structure fire on Pulaski Street in Kingston Monday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire1-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Smoke billows out of a double block at 8-10 Pulaski St. in Kingston Monday. Crews battled the blaze that displaced seven residents. Firemen from Edwardsville and Kingston handle a structure fire on Pulaski Street in Kingston Monday afternoon. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Homeowners watch as their home fire is extinguished. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire4-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Homeowners watch as their home fire is extinguished. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A police officer carries a baby from the scene of a fire in Kingston. 2/22/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire5-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>A police officer carries a baby from the scene of a fire in Kingston. 2/22/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption5><photoCredit5>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A woman wails on a neighbor&#8217;s porch while watching as firemen extinguish a fire at her home. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022316Fire2-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>A woman wails on a neighbor&#8217;s porch while watching as firemen extinguish a fire at her home. </caption6><photoCredit6>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Organization helps those displaced</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Fires so far this year</strong></p><p>The following are structure fires covered by the Times Leader in 2016:</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 4: 102 Prospect St., Wilkes-Barre (Arson)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 16: 75-77 Carey Ave., Wilkes-Barre (Unknown cause)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 18: 69 Salem Boulevard, Salem Township (Wood burner)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 18: 100 block of Salem Boulevard, Salem Township (Generator fire)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 22: 83 Nicholson St., Wilkes-Barre Township (Wood burner)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 28: 309-311 Franklin St., West Pittston (Unknown cause)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 30: 100 block of Spruce Street, Fairview Township (Unknown cause)</p><p>&#8226; Jan. 31: 25 Franklin St. (garage), Wilkes-Barre Township (Accidental)</p><p>&#8226; Feb. 14: 142 Poplar St., Kingston (Accidental due to thawing pipes)</p><p>&#8226; Feb. 18: South Market Street, Nanticoke (Electrical)</p><p>&#8226; Feb. 20: 89 West Union St., Kingston (Under investigation)</p><p>&#8226; Feb. 22: 8-10 Pulaski St., Kingston (Under investigation</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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Devastated by house fire, Kingston residents look to American Red Cross for help