Emergency calls (Red Cross disaster)

In this episode of It's Your Life, Don Herbert follows a fire station ambulance as they rush to help a 311 fire in urban Chicago. He speaks with firefighters, members of the five displaced families, and the local officials from the American Red Cross who were providing help to those families rendered homeless by the fire.
This episode offers a glimpse into the workings of first-responders during an emergency, the tribulations of those affected by such emergencies, and the work done by the Red Cross to help those in need in 1949 Chicago.




Producer Ben Park and Host Don Herbert follow first-responders to a 311 fire in Chicago in this episode. After receiving the call, Herbert rides along with an ambulance arriving to treat survivors. He gives an ongoing commentary on the state of the fire, survivors and onlookers milling about, and the efforts by emergency medical technicians and fire-fighters to put the fire out and ensure the safety of those affected by the conflagration.
As the fire rages on, Herbert interviews the chief fire marshal, the man who reported the fire, some of the men and women displaced by the fire, and the acting chief of the battalion, each of whom offers as much as they know.
The Red Cross officer in attendance discusses the efforts to house and clothe the newly homeless. Herbert moves from the fire itself to a makeshift Red Cross Headquarters nearby, where he interviews survivors and Red Cross workers.
After a short break to go home and sleep, Herbert returns to talk with some of the families who had stayed in a nearby church, none of whom had found sleep themselves, they discuss their uncertain futures. The Red Cross representative discusses the plans to help. But for more general information, Herbert talks to the director of disaster services for the Chicago Red Cross, who discusses just what they are capable of providing.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection

WNYC archives id: 150103
Municipal archives id: LT1969