LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Ideally the American Red Cross wants to be on the scene of a house fire as soon as possible. But that didn't necessarily happen Wednesday night at either house fire in Mesquite or Chaparrel.

“We definitely could've responded to the fire in Chaparral sooner,” said Melanie Mitchard who is the Executive Director for the southwestern New Mexico chapter of the Red Cross. “The sooner we can get there the sooner we can start assisting them.”

And Mitchard said that assistance comes in many forms.

“Food, clothing, shelter, medical needs,” she said.

But in the case of the two fires last night there was a delayed response from the Red Cross and Michard thinks she knows why.

“I think the responders, maybe the fire departments or the police departments maybe don't think about the Red Cross being able to help,” said Mitchard.

While Mitchard admits it's her responsibility letting responders know they are an available resource, the county said it may still be a large order.

“The responders obviously have their hands full,” said Jess Williams who is the Dona Ana County spokesperson. “They need to get their gear on, they need to get to the scene, so we don't want them on telephones trying to dispatch.”

So rather the county will be working to see if the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch can play as communicator to the Red Cross.

“We'll be working with MRVDA to determine if that's something they can assist with,” said Williams.

With the confusion out of the way with response time Michard said all she needs to do now is lessen any confusion on how to donate.

“We just feel that we can better serve the people we help with the use of a dollar,” said Mitchard.

That's because logistically donations of food and clothes complicate the process, but something to remember because unfortunately last night’s two house fires may not be the last one the borderland sees.

We've had a quite a few fires in the last couple of weeks so I would say this time of the year we are a little high risk,” said Mitchard.

If you would like to learn more about donating through the Red Cross you can do so by checking out the links mentioned section of this Web site.