Brimfield sustained some of the worst damage from Wednesday's tornadoes; officials estimated that 100 homes are no longer habitable.
BRIMFIELD – The First Congregational Church on the town common here will hold community meals until all residents have power, organizer Gina Lynch said Friday night.
Families crowded inside the church for Friday night's community meal, which began at 6 p.m. Brimfield sustained some of the worst damage from Wednesday's tornadoes; officials estimated that 100 homes are no longer habitable, and there was one death at the Village Green Camp Ground on Route 20.
The church is accepting donations, serving as a clearinghouse for volunteers, and offering food and supplies to people who need them. A "steady stream" of people had been coming in since 8 that morning, reported Lynch.
Lynch said volunteers have been pouring in, some from as far away as Alabama to help. She said some residents have been fearful to leave their homes over concerns about looting. Food was driven to some people who could not go to the church.
"There are a lot of neighbors helping neighbors," Lynch said.
Michele Shea was eating dinner there with her five sons and husband. Their house at 56 Haynes Hill Road had most of its roof torn off. They all were home when the tornado struck.
"The noise, it was awful," Shea said.
Haynes Hill Road, along with Wales, Hollow, Holland and Paige Hill roads were heavily damaged. Shea said her neighbors saw their house spinning above them as they sought refuge in the cellar. Another neighbor's furniture was sucked out of the broken windows.
Francisco Gonzales, his wife and 3-year-old daughter were in a corner of their basement when their home at 101 Wales Road (Route 19) was lifted off the foundation and demolished, leaving an open space above them. They were not hurt.
The Boston Herald reported the tornado victim as Virginia Darlow, 52, and said her boyfriend, Richard Reim, 51, was left with a broken back, broken neck and ribs. The tornado leveled the campground; they were in a trailer there.
"The campground was just demolished," Fire Chief Stephen Denning said.
Denning said there were 10 campers left after a busy Memorial Day weekend.
The destruction in Brimfield is hard to believe, residents said. Along Route 19, tops of trees are sawed off, showing the path of the tornadoes.
William A. Bressette was home with his son David, 15, as the tornado approached. Once the sky darkened, they went inside, and just barely made it to the cellar stairs before the windows next to it blew out.
"It came behind the house and went straight across the street," Bressette, of 94 Holland Road, said.
Bressette said his house will have to be razed. It lost part of its roof and exterior. He estimated that it took a minute and a half to pass by; the sound was deafening, "like three freight trains."
There are some bright spots amid the destruction. Bressette said a father and son drove all the way out from Natick just to help people. They spent a half-day cutting fallen trees in his yard, Bressette said.
From left to right, One Stop Towing and Classic Heaven owner David A. Bell gets a hug from friend Scott Cable of Holland. Bell's business on Holland Road in Brimfield was destroyed. All 70 vehicles wee ruined by the tornado- classic cars, tow trucks, used cars, he said. The video his employee took of the tornado's aftermath went viral.Bressette lives next to One Stop Towing and Classic Heaven Used Cars and Parts, which was destroyed by the tornado. Mechanic Christopher Mendrek's YouTube video of the aftermath went viral.
Owner David A. Bell was at a Red Sox game in Boston when his employees called him about the tornado. Bell said he told them to be sure to move a customer's yellow Mustang.
"It's now flat," Bell said.
Bell said all 70 vehicles on the Holland Road lot are ruined - 40 cars for sale, 20 that were being worked on, and 10 tow trucks. Some were thrown against the trees across the street.
He said he got a text from his employees after the tornado that said, "all gone." He didn't believe them at first.
Bell, who is in a band, said he also lost all his band equipment that he keeps in a building on the property - drums, a Leslie organ.
Mendrek and One Stop Manager Scott Murray said they hid under a stairwell as the tornado passed over them. Bell said he has a lot of good friends helping out, helping sort through the piles of twisted metal and debris.
Denning said the town is now in "recovery mode."