A Salmon Creek man said that he and his family are lucky to be alive after half of a large oak tree crashed into their house Wednesday.
Tom McMullen and his wife Leslie were lying in bed at about 9 a.m. Wednesday chatting about snow day activities when they heard rumbling.
“It felt like and sounded like a major earthquake … the whole house was rumbling,” McMullen said. Then, “I heard the kids screaming from the living room.”
He and his wife jumped out of bed, screaming their kids’ names as they ran toward their children, 7-year-old Lainey and 9-year-old Brady.
The kids met them in the foyer and the four went through their jammed front door, eventually getting everyone out of the house, McMullen said. Few people had shoes and all were in their pajamas, he said.
He later learned that his son, Brady, had been sitting on an ottoman when he heard the crashing sound. His sister, Lainey, was sitting next to him on the couch but froze at the strange sound. Brady grabbed his sister and ran away from the living room, McMullen said.
Looking at photos of the damage later, McMullen said you can see a beam fell down right where Lainey had been sitting and other debris landed on the ottoman. He also learned from an employee at the tree company that the tree had split at its roots and that the half of the tree that fell weighed about 100,000 pounds.
“It was just super-emotional. We were so thankful to get out,” he said. “Brady had enough courage to grab her and run out of the room, I was super proud.”
McMullen rents the house, but said that in an effort to safe money for a down payment, he recently downgraded his renters insurance to the bare minimum. To help him replace furniture and other items lost by the damage, a friend created a gofundme page. Those interested in donating can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/tommy-mcmullen-navy-veteran.
In light of what happened, McMullen said that lately he’s been feeling grateful.
“The last few days, I’ve been looking at the kids thinking, we’re sitting here and talking and laughing … me and my wife aren’t planning a funeral,” he said. “It brings everything into perspective.”
