A community sends support from the Bay Area to help San Bruno fire victims

In response to Thursday's exploding gas pipeline fire in San Bruno, many of the 2,000 members of the volunteer network from the Mission District's Red Cross headquarters were sent out to help, making two-night shelters to house, feed, and assist the over 100 displaced victims. Video from local news shows the huge, damaged concrete slabs which were left after the fires.

Each year from this location, 150,000 people get educated and trained on safety response and disaster readiness. Yet twice that number of people, over 350,000, are rescued or given aid in yearly emergencies, including floods, fires, storms and other random acts of God. While all the services are free, without public support in the form of financial contributions and non-paid workers, help could not continue. To learn more about supporting your community or to take courses with the agency, contact 1-888-4-HELPBAY, or (415) 427-8000, or www.redcrossbayarea.org. The Red Cross headquarters are located at: 85 2nd St., 8th floor, in San Francisco.