The fire that started in the clothes dryer burned much of Audra Gonzales' children's clothing two weeks ago and rendered her rented home unlivable for days.

She, her son and daughter went to a hotel the night of the small disaster.

John Spink/AJC (ENLARGE)

Bill Jones is an executive by day. By night, he may get called to a burning home or another crisis to help people in need. He calls volunteering 'tremendously fulfilling.'

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It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door.

Bill Jones and other American Red Cross volunteers had tracked Gonzales down. They helped her replace clothes, made sure the Gonzaleses had food and gave her advice.

"They were the nicest people I had ever met," the single mother from Marietta said.

"[Jones] was there, and you just felt calm in his presence, kind of like a dad. You knew everything was going to be all right," she said.

Jones, an assistant captain in the Cobb and Cherokee County disaster response team, is typical of the 800-plus volunteers the Red Cross can activate during crises.

He works full time as a vice president of SA Technologies, a hig-tech firm in Marietta. But he was looking for a way to get involved in his community. Hurricane Katrina gave him the impetus he needed. Tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents fled to metro Atlanta. Jones, like most of America, was watching it happen on TV and realized fleeing victims were within a few minutes of where he sat.

"I saw the Red Cross asking for volunteers to help," he said.

He felt a previous job as an airline pilot and accident investigator helped prepare him, so he called.

Within days, he was helping people who had been plucked off roofs the week before. He interviewed arriving victims and helped guide them through the system. He now leads a team of 15 volunteers through a week each month of on-call service.

His team may be called out to help at 2 in the afternoon or 2 in the morning. Beyond providing food and shelter, volunteers can get medicines that have been lost or find temporary homes for pets.

Jones and his team also responded to the tornadoes that hit northwest Georgia two weeks ago.

Victoria Sharp, a disaster specialist with the Red Cross, said the stereotypical volunteer 10 years ago was a retiree who had time on his hands. But that is changing in Atlanta. More full-time workers and even executives such as Jones are pitching in.

"Here in metro Atlanta, the trend is definitely heading in the direction of multitaskers who are wanting to get involved in their community," she said.

Jones said his volunteer work is a pleasant change from business.

When he shows up at a scene, he is no longer a vice president, he is just a guy who can give immediate help to the person standing right in front of him.

"It is a tremendously fulfilling experience to know when you roll back into bed at 5 o'clock in the morning that you have helped a family that three hours ago was [asking]: 'Where are we going to go? What are we going to do?' "