Videography by Robert Castillo
BLUEWELL, W.Va. – When the wind and rain from the storm that was Helene reached the two Virginias, it was an all-hands-on-deck emergency for first responders –Cory Himes is one of them.
As a volunteer firefighter with the Bluewell Volunteer Fire Department he was in the thick of it.
“[I] got information that there was a tree down across my grandpa’s driveway, so I cleared that for him. Cell towers were down so, I went back to the station to see where they needed me and found out from another firefighter that 911 was trying to get a hold of me on the radio.”
They delivered the news no one wants to hear: “there’s an emergency at your house.”
“The neighbor called in and said there was a tree on my line. And I tried to get to the house, but it was blocked with a flooded creek on one side and a downed tree on the other side,” said Himes.
“So, I parked at the downed tree, walked to the house and ended up having four trees on my house.”
Himes said nothing could have fully prepared him for the sight of the storm damage to his home.
“I kinda didn’t believe it at first,” said the Bluewell volunteer firefighter, [I] got here and all kinds of emotions running through. [I] didn’t know exactly what to think [or] what to do.”
The Mercer County resident said was only a matter of minutes to set a course of action.
“Once it kinda set in, it was just clean up mode. Trying to get everything off as quick as possible before the next rain hit.”
You don’t have to be an insurance adjuster to see there’s major damage to Himes home.
But no insurance adjuster is set to visit the property. Himes says it was passed down to him from his grandmother.
“It’s been in the family as long as I can remember. I’ve spent every summer in it so [there’s] a ton of memories in this house so I’d hate to lose it. It was an inheritance, so thankfully I don’t owe anything on it, but didn’t get a chance to get insurance on it.”
Below you will find the GoFundMe set up by Himes’ girlfriend and family to help him rebuild.
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