WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) - The Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire has shined a light on the caring community in Winston-Salem.
People have stepped in to help evacuees have a comfortable place to sleep. Some neighbors have offered to pay for hotels so, people can keep their families together.
Red Cross volunteers told FOX8 it's why only one person stayed at the emergency shelter inside the education building on the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Tuesday night.
"I have never seen that," said John Hughes, executive director of the Piedmont Triad Red Cross. "It's certainly a very generous act by these local citizens."
Volunteers set up the shelter to help people forced out of their homes with little notice.
Carissa Joines saw the images from the fire and how lives were being changed.
It motivated her to show up at the shelter Tuesday and pay for 28 evacuees, essentially 10 families to stay in a hotel.
"When we got there, we found that there were several people that just really being in the shelter was not an ideal situation for them," Joines said. "One lady was visually impaired another needed to use a medical device when she sleeps."
Joines said it's something she hopes someone would do for her if she had to evacuate.
"I've been in situations in my life where I would not have had the resources to handle a situation like this if it would've come up," she said. "It would've been very devastating to me."
Joines told FOX8 the cost for Wednesday and Thursday night was covered. She said community members have pitched in $3,000 to help pay for the rooms."Not wanting someone to be in a situation where they had to be concerned about their family's safety or whether or not they're going to be able to pay their bills," she said.
The shelter is open for evacuees who need a place to stay. It is located at 414 Deacon Boulevard.
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