LYNN — When Mark Linehan was told a large red oak tree had fallen onto his house late Tuesday morning, his immediate concern was not for how much damage there was to his newly renovated Parkland Avenue home.
“I was hoping the dog was OK,” said Linehan, 35. “He’s older (and) sleeps right next to there.”
Linehan lives at 325 Parkland Ave., with his wife and son, but nobody was home when the tree fell, other than his dog and cat.
He had learned about the tree damage from his wife, who received a call from one of their neighbors. The tree took out part of the roof, but the home was still deemed habitable, according to the Lynn Fire Department.
With rain expected later in the afternoon on Tuesday, Linehan made a trip to Home Depot to purchase tarp to cover the exposed roof areas. He said his family was still planning to stay in the home that night.
“It could be worse,” said Linehan. “The inside is fine for the most part. I’m just glad we’ve still got air conditioning. No one was hurt.”
His father, Ed Linehan, whom he had asked to stay at the home until he arrived from work, said Mark had completely renovated the house before he moved in about six months ago.
“When he bought it, it was empty,” Ed said. “He gutted the entire thing. It was a previous foreclosure. He spent a year rebuilding the thing and just moved into it six months ago.”
But Ed echoed his son, saying that it could have been worse, especially if the tree had fallen overnight when everyone was sleeping inside.
“My first thought was: did it rain out? Did a thunderstorm hit?” Ed said, explaining that he was inside his office at the time his son called him. “It didn’t make a lot of sense. This thing is over 100 feet tall that came down.”
Lynn Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas said the department had received a 911 call shortly before 10:30 a.m. for a tree on top of a house at the intersection of Parkland Avenue and Linwood Street. He said part of the roof and siding was damaged.
“This is an old tree that half of it just fell off,” said Zukas. “It’s clear weather. It’s sunny and warm right now. I don’t recall any wind so it might just be a rotted tree.”
The city’s Inspectional Services Department responded to assess the damage and Lynn-based Brennan Tree Service was still on scene Tuesday afternoon clearing out the tree trunk and branches.
“It was just already pre-damaged,” said Jon Brennan, owner of Brennan Tree Service. “It’s a red oak, a big old rotted red oak. It split from the other side.”
Clearing out the tree made for a much different day than Brennan had planned for his crew.
“Brennan Tree Service (is) here on a 100-degree day. We’re supposed to be out fishing,” he said.
