ANDOVER — An Andover couple got the scare of their lives when a 70-year-old Norway maple fell on their house last night, damaging its roof and their car.
Elaine O'Brien was awake when she heard the windows rattle; a few minutes later, the tree came down.
"I thought it was an earthquake," O'Brien said. "There wasn't a breeze or anything. It just fell, hit the corner of the roof and landed right across the house. It was terrible."
Andover police responded Tuesday night, but decided to remove the tree yesterday during daylight hours. Workers from the parks, grounds cemetery and forestry division, were at the house at 7:30 a.m. to haul away the city-owned tree.
"We're very pleased. The town did a really good job responding," Richard O'Brien said.
Ironically, the O'Briens are having their house painted and the work was to be finished this week. Now they have to fix the roof and get their 1998 Volvo repaired.
Andover Town Manager Reginald "Buzz" Stapczynski said the residents can submit a claim to the town for damages.
"They submit a claim and it gets sent to our insurance company," said Stapczynski, noting Andover is covered by the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association. "We're insured for that kind of thing."
The O'Briens have lived at 12 Argyle St., for 40 years and this is the second time a tree has fallen on their property. The last time it was in the backyard.
"It's sad and there's a lot of emotion because our house was damaged and the car is lost," Richard O'Brien said.
After pondering for a few minutes while sitting on the kitchen table, he put things into perspective.
"There are people with more serious problems than us. At least we're not a victim of Hurricane Ike or Gustav."
His wife agreed.
"It's a big blow for us, but we'll get over it. These things are repairable. Luckily no one was hurt," she said.
