Red Cross helped Riverwest residents after power knocked out from blaze
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Annie Scholz reports Video by tmj4.com
video
MILWAUKEE- Thousands struggled in the heat after a 5-alarm blaze in Riverwest knocked out power for hours.
In all, around 4,100 customers in the Riverwest area didn't have power for nearly six hours on Tuesday.
Jennifer Rushing and her neighbors lost power around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday after a fire at a nearby garage fried their electricity.
"It was pretty rough, it was pretty rough, we all kind of trickled outside, didn't know what was going on," said Rushing.
"With the heat and everything and the electricity cut off it was pretty bad for about 5 or 6 hours," described Scott Hansen.
The Red Cross showed up to help keep people cool.
"It's real easy to get kids running around, animals running around without water and that's the biggest think I think," said Red Cross volunteer Frank Russ.
Without power, people couldn't cook for their families either, so the Red Cross brought in a special vehicle filled with food. A lot of the food people had in their refrigerators had to be thrown out.
Strangers showed up, armed with ice and water to help. People who've never met before, banding together in a time of need.
"It really could have gone bad, but because of our joint effort, we brought it together," said Rushing.
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