In the early morning hours on Thursday, April 15, a fire destroyed the Parkway Apartments on Centre Parkway near Tates Creek Elementary School in Lexington. The fire, intentionally set, destroyed or damaged 15 apartments. City inspectors later condemned 21 other units.

With 64 people left homeless, the Bluegrass Chapter of the American Red Cross acted quickly and opened a shelter at Tates Creek Elementary. The shelter provided a place to go for approximately 55 of those individuals daily with 20 individuals staying the night. Food was provided by the Salvation Army. "A huge thank you must go out to everyone involved, but especially to the the 32 Red Cross Volunteers who staffed the shelter for two and half days," says Volunteer Director Jamie Etherton. "It is because of their willingness and the generosity of many wonderful donors that we were able to provide assistance to our friends and neighbors during their time of need."

The Chapter also continues to assist families adversely affected by the recent flooding in central and eastern Kentucky. "We have had major damage in 16 of the 55 counties we assist," stated Director of Disaster Operations for the Bluegrass Chapter Kerry Graul. "Over 60 homes were totally destroyed and more than 350 homes had major damage inflicted by the flood."

The Red Cross opened five shelters in the region and provided temporary housing to over 100 people. More than 60 Red Cross volunteers have come together to lend a hand. Disaster Assessment Teams have gone door-to-door checking almost 1000 homes in affected areas. Casework teams are deployed to the impacted area and are providing appropriate financial assistance to the affected families based on flood damage.