One Tuesday evening in the beginning of the fall 1996 semester (学期) at Shippensburg University, sirens sounded. These sirens were not in celebration; they were a cry to the university that something was wrong. A house, only one block away, was on fire. Nine of the university’s students lived there.
From the minute the word got out that help was needed, it seemed like everyone showed up. The victims (受灾者) of the fire were offered endless invitations for housing for the night. The very next day, everyone got_into_gear to do their part in helping them. Flyers(＝ handbills) were posted with items that were immediately needed, just to get these students through this next couple of days. Boxes for donations (捐赠品) and money jars were placed in every residence hall (学生宿舍)．
