Fire News Roundup: Corporate Donations, Red Cross Update and Cell Phone Help

Bay City News — Here's a round-up of recent news related to the fire disaster in San Bruno:

Subsidiaries of AT&T Inc. in San Bruno are providing victims with free access to phone and computer services, the company announced Friday.

Employees of AT&T stores in San Bruno provided wireless phones to people who needed them at the Veterans Memorial Recreational Center, located at 251 City Park Way at Crystal Springs Road. The company also made computers and cellular phone chargers available at that location.

Phone battery chargers were also made available at the Red Cross center at the Bayhill Shopping Center, the company said, and AT&T employees offered general assistance to Red Cross volunteers there.

After the gas line exploded at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday, two AT&T cell sites lost power and another went off-air, the company said. The area's wireless network then quickly became heavily congested.

The company immediately sent portable generators to all three sites, and they are now fully operational, AT&T said.

A Cellular on Wheels rolling cell site was also deployed to make sure the network would be able to handle the inevitable increase in voice and data traffic following the crisis, the company said.

Displaced customers are also eligible to receive some free services without the usual installation fees.

Victims of the fire can set up call forwarding, remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, voicemail, or a new phone line without paying introductory fees, the company said.

AT&T-California, in a statement.

Displaced AT&T customers can get their free services by calling (888) 338-3291 and leaving a voicemail with a working contact number.

A representative will return the call within 24 hours with an assessment of what services would best serve the customer's needs, the company said.

Red Cross Needs Cash; Blood Banks Are Full, Donate Later

The American Red Cross is encouraging financial donations instead of food and clothing to assist people displaced by Thursday's fire in San Bruno.

Donations can be made online at redcrossbayarea.org/donate, by calling 1-888-4-HELP-BAY or by mailing a check to: American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, 85 Second St., Eighth Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94105.

Monetary donations allow the Red Cross to provide people with credit cards that they can use to purchase items they need and that fit them, O'Brien said.

Blood banks are also full at this time, she added.

"(The blood banks) are overwhelmed," O'Brien said. "Donate over the next few weeks. Burn patients need longer-term treatment."

The Red Cross, along with the city of San Bruno, San Mateo County and the state, are now preparing for the "second phase" of the relief operations, said Red Cross spokesman Steve Sharp.

"This is going to last for some time. Financial assistance is going to be the most important thing that Red Cross ends up doing, so we're trying to put money in the bank to prepare for the second phase of this operation," Sharp said.

"There's a lot of people without any homes and they'll be out of their homes for some time," he said.

Major Corporations Making Donations

Several big-name corporations and nonprofit community organizations have leaped at the opportunity to help the people devastated by Thursday evening's gas line explosion and fire in San Bruno.

Levi Strauss & Co., Wells Fargo bank and the Safeway Foundation made monetary donations totaling $100,000 to the American Red Cross today, the companies announced. 

Levi Strauss and Safeway are also making in-kind donations, and two local community foundations have set up relief funds for victims in San Bruno.

Wells Fargo, which is based in San Francisco, donated $50,000 to the Bay Area chapter of the Red Cross, the corporation said in a statement.

The bank will also enable 85 ATMs at Wells Fargo locations in San Mateo County so customers can make donations directly to the American Red Cross through the machines, the company said. There will be no charge for the service, and all money received will go to the Red Cross.

"We know our contribution will help fund the important work of the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter in assisting victims of the fire," Wells Fargo Mission-Regional president Wendy Haller said in the statement. "We truly appreciate their efforts."

San Francisco-based jeans giant Levi Strauss & Co. is making monetary donations and offering clothing donations to people affected by the fire.

The Levi Strauss Foundation donated $25,000 to the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, the company said in a statement, and will match any donations made by employees.

Victims of the fire can also claim $250 gift cards for Levi clothes from the Red Cross's Bay Area chapter. The vouchers can be redeemed at any Levi Strauss & Co. store.

The statement said the company "extends its sympathy and support to those impacted by this tragedy."

The Safeway Foundation, the philanthropic extension of the Safeway grocery chain, also donated $25,000 to the Red Cross.

The company supplied first responders and displaced residents with water, ice, and bagged meals as they dealt with the blaze through the night on Thursday, company spokeswoman Susan Houghton said.

The Safeway Foundation also plans to give grocery gift cards to impacted families and will have donation collections at checkout stands in about 80 stores around San Mateo County, the statement said.

Those wishing to assist the San Bruno fire victims can also donate money to the San Bruno Relief Fund set up by the nonprofit San Francisco Foundation, the California Secretary of Service and Volunteering, Karen Baker, said today.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation - which serves San Mateo and Santa Clara counties - has also set up a collection for the disaster, the San Bruno Fire Fund, according to an announcement from the nonprofit.

 The Community Foundation made a $100,000 initial contribution to the Fire Fund and will match any contributions from donors, corporations, and the public dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000, the foundation said in a statement.

All contributions to the Fire Fund will go through nonprofit organizations and programs in the affected area to "help the neighborhood recover" and provide emergency aid to displaced people, the statement said.

Donations to the Fire Fund can be made online by going to www.siliconvalleycf.org and clicking "Donate Now," or they can be mailed to Silicon Valley Community Foundation, attn: San Bruno Fire Fund at 2440 West El Camino Real, Suite 300, Mountain View, CA, 94040.

"During times of tragedy like this, the true purpose of community is demonstrated as we all come together to help," foundation president Emmett D. Carson said in the statement. "This happened in our community, in our backyard."