COARSEGOLD — Firefighters responded to a different kind of emergency tonight when a large bull pine crashed through the roof of a house.
Just before 8 p.m. this evening, Engine 4295 from the Cal Fire Station in Coarsegold was called out for reports of a tree into a house on Douglas Road, just off Wells Road west of Coarsegold.
When firefighters arrived at scene, they found that a huge bull pine had come down on top of a house, punching through the roof.
There was one female occupant in the house at the time, along with her dogs and cats, but no one was injured.
Neighbors came from nearby homes to render any assistance they could, including Scott Gordineer, who shared these photos.
“She had just arrived home from a day of horseback riding with friends and was walking by the bedroom when the tree came crashing through,” says Scott. “She called me frantically to come help. I told her to dial 9-1-1 and then called my friends at Station 10.”
Scott says Cody Gibson helped by calling dispatch and guiding the engine to the residence.
“Her address is hard to find in the dark and even harder in a downpour,” says Scott.
Captain Richard Brechbuehl, along with firefighters Jason Chevoya and Adam Moreno cut the limbs off the tree and used them to create a tepee-shaped structure over the hole in the roof, then covered that with a tarp and secured it to keep the rain from doing any further damage to the home.
With the tree touching the service line to the house, they shut off power and notified PG&E. They also requested that dispatch have the Red Cross respond to provide any assistance the homeowner might need, but the resident was able to make other arrangements, so Red Cross was cancelled.
“Tonight the good men of Engine 4295 responded to my neighbors house,” says Scott. “In a downpour these fine fellows did a great job of clearing branches so that tarps could be spread over the roof to avoid further water damage. A big shout out to these guys for going above and beyond.”
