An unidentified good Samaritan reportedly agreed to foot the bill for 70 homeless people who were camped out on the streets of Chicago in subfreezing weather to stay in an area hotel.
The group, which had set up a makeshift camp, found themselves in trouble when one of about 100 donated propane tanks they were using to keep warm exploded.
The city in the US has been enveloped by a blast of polar air that sent temperatures plunging to -23F (with wind chills reportedly making it feel like -50F).
The fire department confiscated the remaining tanks, fearing that further explosions could be “like a bomb going off.” Then it started making arrangements to send the group to a Salvation Army warming center, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Soon after, the charity was notified that an anonymous donor had offered to put the group up in a hotel.
“Isn’t that wonderful? At least they’re warm and they’re safe,” a spokeswoman for the Salvation Army told the newspaper, adding that “some wonderful citizen is going to put them up at a hotel for the rest of the week.”