Red Cross Assists Three Families Displaced By House Fire

American Red Cross volunteers came to the aid of three families burned out of their home on Lowell Street Friday afternoon and provided two of the families with emergency shelter and supplies.

A fire was extinguished in the basement of 722 Lowell St. around 4:30 p.m. -- a three-unit home -- and according to initial scanner reports, the Fire Department believed the blaze was sparked by an electrical wiring problem.

Red Cross volunteers provided temporary emergency shelter at a hotel and money for food to two families -- two adults in one unit and two adults and three children in another unit. They also gave out two toiletry kits and Mickey Mouse dolls to the children.

They said two adults and three children in the third unit did not require any Red Cross services.