CHARDON, Ohio — More than three weeks after 12 confirmed tornadoes tore through Northeast Ohio, some communities are still cleaning up.
Friday, first responders were responding to a call for help from one of their own.
In Chardon, an EF-1 tornado touched down on Aug. 24, tearing up trees and snapping branches along Meadowwood Drive and through the woods behind the neighborhood.
“I was at home in the basement with my wife,” Dave Linn recalled. “And I started sitting there going, ‘There goes a tree, there goes a tree.’ And we had pieces hitting the house.”
No injuries were reported, and few homes incurred significant damage in the storm. In the morning, Linn and his neighbors on the private road managed to clear much of the street with their own equipment.
Weeks later, large trees and branches in the wooded neighborhood still littered yards.
“I was running out of firewood at home,” Linn laughed. “God took care of it for me. He dropped it and dropped all the trees for me. So thank you.”
He retired from the Beachwood Fire Department a decade ago, and several of his neighbors are current and former firefighters themselves. Linn realized the debris was more than he and his neighbors could cut and move themselves, so he enlisted help from the Chardon fire chief.
“I made one phone call to get a fireman. I got a dozen of them out here,” Linn said.
Chardon Fire Chief Justin Geiss added, “The people back here have probably years worth of work if they were going to try to do it all on their own. So anything we can do to help out and make people’s lives a little bit easier, we’re going to try to do.”
Geiss put out a message for assistance to his department and several other agencies. Friday morning, firefighters and police officers from three to four departments showed up to help. Many volunteered on their day off or before or after shifts.
“He asked me, and I said, ‘Sure, count me in,’” said Chardon Police Officer Jason Bryant. “We’re out here to help people. It’s that simple. I mean, that’s what we do for a living anyhow, so what’s any different on our days off.”
Chardon Rental and Overhaul Landscaping provided machinery and trailers to the group to lift and haul heavy branches and trees. The group planned to work as long as possible to clean up the neighborhood.
“I think it’s pretty common with any profession or any place after disaster; people come together,” Linn said.
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