CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – When severe winds blew through Clarksville last week, a tree fell on a home in St. Bethlehem, and three children escaped injury thanks to the heroic efforts of their 15-year-old brother.
On the night of Wednesday, March 19, the winds with gusts around 45 mph blew a large tree onto the home of Justin Noll on Caney Lane, off Trenton Road. Noll, who’s an Army veteran, told Clarksville Now he was working in Nashville at the time when he got an urgent text from his wife.
“She proceeded to tell me the tree fell onto our home,” Noll said. “Then, what was going on at the time was my 15-year-old and his younger siblings of 11, 8 and 4, they were playing out in the kitchen. My oldest said that’s when he heard a crash, which he thought was thunder, but then noticed the ceiling was beginning to fall down.”
Noll said his 15-year-old son raised his arms to catch the debris falling on him and his siblings, allowing them to get to safety. “He was heroic in that moment, and they got out with just a couple of bruises,” he said.
‘The culmination of my life’s work’
Noll said when he returned home, he saw the destruction. “You don’t realize the emotional impact that that can have,” Noll said. “I spent time in the military, and the culmination of my life’s work is in that little house there. You don’t realize what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
He said with the extent of the damage, Clarksville Building and Codes has deemed the house unlivable. It may end up being a total loss out of fear of the home collapsing amid repairs.
Noll said he plans to continue to meet with his insurance company to figure out what the next step is and whether they’ll declare it as a total loss too. If so, the Noll family will look to rebuild on the same lot.
He and his family are now living in a hotel room. Noll said any financial support would be greatly appreciated. “That way I can take some time to get them all back on their feet and past this incident,” he said. “To be able to do what I’ve got to do in the recovery process without having to worry about the finances would be tremendously helpful. With this traumatic experience, my wife and kids don’t want to be without me around, so it’s been tough figuring it all out.”
To help the family, visit their GoFundMe page.
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