Barrington Family Relives Irene Nightmare

Barrington Family Relives Irene Nightmare

As you sit around wondering if you’ll be the last person in Rhode Island to have their power restored, you should probably know that it could have been worse. You could be Kim or Scott Bates.

It’s safe to say the Barrington family has earned the unfortunate title of the unluckiest people of Hurricane Irene after having three 70-foot trees fall on their property, including two that directly hit their house, knocking out power and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

3 Trees Hit House

The terrifying experience began around 9:00am according to Kim, who said that along with her husband, the family had three children in the house as the hurricane hit: a nine-year-old, a seven-year-old and a 17-month-old.

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That’s when the first enormous tree came crashing through the house. Bates said the experience sent the family into a panic.

“We ran upstairs and called the fire department,” she said. “It was scary, the kids were scared.”

Moments later, yet another tree was blown down by the storm, which produced hurricane-force wind gusts throughout the day across the state. At this point, Bates said the family had no idea what they should do.

“We were freaking out,” she said. “We had never seen anything like this.”

It didn’t end there. Just as the family was beginning to cope with the realization that two massive trees that had fallen on the house within minutes of each other, yet another tree came down, this time just narrowly missing the sunroom she and the 17-month-old child were sitting in.

“My poor husband was up the street assessing some of the damage,” she said. “And he watched as another tree came down. I couldn’t believe it was happening again. We must have had a micro tornado in our neighborhood.”

Everyone Is Safe

In Rhode Island, Irene’s wrath forced down hundreds of trees and more than 300,000 residents lost power. By Tuesday evening, 100,000 were still waiting to have their electricity restored. National Grid has worked around the clock in attempt to service the state, but the company says it could be until the weekend before power is restored statewide.

The Bates family is still waiting.

But they’re not complaining. Kim said the family is just relieved that no one was hurt.

“I’m happy no one got hurt,” she said. “The trees were coming in every direction.”

  Damage Assessment  

Now the family faces a different kind of damage assessment: The cost of repairs. Bates said Fidelity still hasn’t returned any phone calls and having the trees removed costs thousands of dollars.

Still, she praised the work of Northeastern Tree and John Holmes Landscaping for coming to her family’s aid. She said both companies went out of their way to assist the family with the tree removal.

“Those guys have been great,” she said. “Much better than my insurance company that hasn’t called even to see if we’re okay.”

An Optimistic Approach

Bates said she has moved past a stage of feeling bad about what happened and is now taking a more optimistic approach.

“All I know is that we’re all safe,” she said. “We’re lucky. I can’t complain.”

On Tuesday, she said the family is moving forward.

“We’re feeling better,” she said. “We don’t have a 70-foot tree in our house anymore.”

 

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