BOSTON -- Amid the chaos and destruction, people are reaching out to help those who were evacuated from their homes after a chemical plant explosion in Danvers early Wednesday morning.

The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at Danvers High School. By Wednesday evening, everyone had been picked up by family, sent to another facility or set up in a hotel.

Hours after most of the town was awakened by a massive blast at the CAI chemical plant, people in Danvers were hard at work transforming the high school into a shelter. Classes at the school were canceled on Wednesday.

"We are glad that we, as a school system, can support the town and the families here," said Danvers School Superintendent Lisa Dana.

"We have the food, the blankets, the cots, the staff -- everyone really gets together. We have the board of selectmen, the school workers -- everyone here pitching in. It works out well. We want to treat people like they are our guests. They have been though a lot already and we want to make them as comfortable as we can," said David Lane, of the Danvers Public Works.

"(My mother) woke up in the middle of the night and all of a sudden all the glass went right near her bed and the little table went flying," said Marie Voisine, whose mother was evacuated.

Some people were still in their pajamas when they were evacuated from their homes. Several were eventually taken to other facilities that could better treat their special needs.

"She is missing her glasses because of the explosion last night. Luckily, nobody got hurt. That is really good," said Andy Brickley, who came to pick up his grandmother from the shelter.

"We hope by this evening that everybody is placed," said state Rep. Ted Speliotis.

By late morning, about 100 people were at the school. The majority were residents of the New England Home for the Deaf and the Thompson House, an assisted living facility.

"It is the only facility east of the Mississippi River that houses people who can't hear or speak," said Speliotis.

"I thought the world stopped spinning. It took my breath away. I am a survivor, though," said evacuee Bill Crowley.

That facility sits just across the Danvers River from the plant.

"I watched on the news and then I saw the helicopter footage of what it looked like and everything and it just seemed really terrible. I was listening to people giving their accounts of what happened -- furniture flying across the room. It is terrible. We wanted to do what we could," said student Eva Bramesco.

The Red Cross said they do not need any more blankets or sleeping materials. They do, however, need about 20 pairs of extra large men's sweatpants.

"We collect money throughout the year to give out for oil and food, so now it is going to be quadrupled, obviously. We are going to be very, very busy helping those people who have lost heir houses and are displaced," said Paula Gates, of the Danvers Community Council.

A fundraiser for the Danvers Community Council will be held Sunday at 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Danvers Bank on Conant Street.

The residents of the New England Home for the Deaf will be moved to the Essex Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Beverly.