NBC News’ Chloe Melas Recalls a Fire that Destroyed Family Home at Empire State Building Lighting

NBC News’ correspondent Chloe Melas lit the Empire State Building Red on Tuesday, March 25th, kicking off Red Cross Giving Day. In her speech for the event, Melas, 38, honored the important work of the American Red Cross.

“The Red Cross volunteers are often among the first on the scene to comfort affected families and help with urgent needs like emergency lodging [and] food. In a typical week, they distribute $1 million in financial assistance to those who have lost everything to home fires,” said Melas.

During her speech, Melas also reflected on her own personal experience with a house fire that destroyed her family home in Pelham, New York five years ago.

Melas remembered the night in January 2020 starting off like any other normal evening. She and her husband, Brian Mazza, founder of HPL Ventures, sat by a fire in their living room and chatted about the day as their two small children Leo, then two, and Luke, only six months old at the time, slept soundly in their beds. It was only after Melas saw the smoke hanging under the lights that she began to worry. Within hours, her home had been consumed by the fire, forcing the family to evacuate.

“I began to cry. I had no coat, just my kids, our dog and my phone,” recalled Melas.

Five years later, at Tuesday’s event, Mazza, 40, beamed with pride as his wife lit the Empire State Building Red. He exclusively told Us the significance of her partnership with the American Red Cross. “Our family went through something really traumatic, losing our home, and that was a very pivotal moment as a family for our growth and resiliency together,” he said. “Today it’s just kind of full circle with [the] Red Cross and how they help so many people.”

As fires devastated Los Angeles this past January, the American Red Cross responded to the crisis. Desiree Ramos Reiner, External Affairs Officer for the Red Cross in Greater New York explained to Us the role the organization played in supporting the L.A. community during the fires.

“The Red Cross is still in LA helping families take their next steps as part of our long-term recovery project,” she said. “While the fires were burning, we had shelters open, we were out distributing food and supplies to family. We had hundreds of volunteers on the ground from across the country who were there to help people in different ways.”

Melas’s brother-in-law, Joe Mazza, who also attended Tuesday’s event, was one of the first people Melas called the night of the fire back in 2020. Joe, 50, star of HGTV’s Home Inspector Joe, told Us what to initially look out for during a house fire.

“The first sign is going to be that smell of smoke,” he said. “The minute you smell that, it’s not a matter of running all over the place and looking. It’s getting on the phone and calling 911 and getting the firemen there immediately. Don’t even waste a minute.”

For more information about The American Red Cross, visit redcross.org