A two-alarm fire tore through an apartment building in Prince George's County Wednesday Jan. 13, injuring three firefighters and two residents, and leaving dozens of families out in the cold.
Dramatic video from the News4 Chopper in January showed firefighters rescuing people from the building using a ladder. Some residents were unable to escape through hallways and needed to be saved from their balconies, Prince George's County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said.
About 100 people were displaced by the fire, losing nearly everything to the flames in January.
Isadore Palma, a refugee from Bangladesh, was one man who was looking for a place to live and a way to get things for his family. While the American Red Cross and neighbors helped out, including getting Palma and his family into a new apartment in Silver Spring, a stranger who saw the coverage on News 4 wanted to do more.
“We met, and I said, help me help you. You have to tell me what you need,” Barbara Frances said after seeing Palma being interviewed on News 4.
With no other connection than her own compassion after watching the news coverage, Francis enlisted the help of others in her Glover Park community and friends from her Peace Corps day. Soon, donations of school supplies, clothing, and other things the family needed were pouring in.
“We are really, really grateful to her," said Palma. “There are so many people coming to us and helping us. She just came, just like an angel. God sent her to us.”
The Palma family is rebuilding with a new sense of foundation from the community. Frances hopes the foundation also includes an understanding of the true American spirit.
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“That we really do, despite political differences around the world, we give back, and we help each other,” Frances said.
Frances also started a GoFundMe page to help with raising money for the Palma family.
Fire investigators said the January fire started when an open flame on a kitchen stove ignited a flammable adhesive flame coming from an aerosol can.
