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Family unharmed when tree crashes into home
by Rob Poggenklass · News · February 28, 2007
If a tree is going to fall on your house, it doesn’t hurt to have a handy great-grandfather, an alert teenager and a bit of luck.
That combination helped the family of Michelle Fountain, residents of 309 West Main Street, escape with just minor damage after a weekend ice storm knocked over the tree in front of their house.
Working at the University Hospitals in Iowa City on Saturday, Fountain was counting on her 15-year-old son, Patrick, to look after her 2 1/2-year-old son, James. She said she knew there was a storm coming, and phoned home to make sure Patrick had blankets and flashlights ready.
When the storm worsened, Patrick called his mom back.
“He said there were ice chunks falling onto the roof,” Fountain said. “I told him to go in the back bedroom.”
When the tree fell, Fountain’s children were unharmed. James was sleeping and Patrick was on the phone with his father. He said the noise sounded like a bomb going off.
“I kind of freaked out, then I called 911,” Patrick said. “It was something.”
The tree caused no structural damage to the house, for which Michelle has her great-grandfather to thank — he built the place.
“The insurance agent said it was a well-built house,” Fountain said.
The accident caused the home’s power to go out for a bit longer than everyone else’s, shattered some glass in the living room and blocked both entrances to the home.
“Our picnic table is in smithereens,” Fountain said. “That’s a small thing.”
The West Branch Fire Department tore out a metal fence to gain entry to the side door, for which Michelle Fountain was grateful.
Fountain said she was lucky to get a hotel room at the Sheraton, one of the last ones available, and the family stayed there Saturday and Sunday night. When Plato Electric restored electrical service on Monday, the family returned home.
Fountain said she knew the tree was rotten, and that she meant to have it removed. Regardless, while she waits for a tree service with a crane, she can be thankful for her great-grandfather’s craftsmanship and her teenager’s quick thinking.
“I’m just thankful everybody’s safe,” she said. “We’re really lucky.”
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