Green estimates they've cleared more than 40 Monson properties for free since the tornado.
View full sizeJustin Green of Whately, a leader of the Chainsaw Response Team operates a chainsaw at a home on King Street in Monson.MONSON – Justin Green got a call from his aunt on East Hill Road after the tornado struck, asking if he would help clear her property. She knew he was handy with a chainsaw.
“I go up King Street and said, ‘Oh my God, this is like a war zone,’” Green, a University of Massachusetts at Amherst police officer, said.
That was how Green’s “Chainsaw Response Team” got its start.
He talked to the men he worked with, along with firefighters and police officers, family and friends, and got the Chainsaw Response Team rolling.
Since early June, the team has focused on helping the people of Monson.
Green, of Whately, estimates they’ve cleared more than 40 properties for free since the tornado ravaged parts of the town on June 1, saving homeowners thousands in tree removal expenses in the process.
Sometimes as many as 40 team members – clad in their trademark fluorescent green T-shirts and chainsaws in hand – descend on the properties and go to work, removing trees and tornado debris in their way.
“They just attack the streets . . . They have pretty much taken care of King Street. If they had not been on the street, it would not look like it does today. There were trees everywhere,” said Lynn M. Taylor, a tornado volunteer who helped connect Green with problem areas.
“They are our angels,” said fellow volunteer, Alison C. Hill.
“The pictures don’t do it justice. The damage, it’s just total devastation. It’s amazing what Mother Nature’s capable of,” said Mark J. Wesoloski, a fellow UMass police officer who is part of the team. “Justin spearheaded everything. He’s been the leader.”
“I don’t want to stop,” Green said.
Green’s taken time off his job and invested his money into the response team. But it costs at least $1,500 a day to do the work, and he is accepting donations, so he can keep the team going. All donations are going to the volunteer effort.
Any questions can be directed to Green at (413) 387-7722. And anyone wishing to make a financial contribution can make donations payable to “LE Chainsaw Crew Monson Tornado Relief” at any Florence Savings Bank; more information is available on the Chainsaw Response Team’s Facebook page. They are also selling Chainsaw Response Team T-shirts as a fundraiser.
Their next stop in Monson is Tuesday, starting at 7:30 a.m., at a location to be determined. Updates will be on the Facebook page.
“We’ve met so many wonderful people . . . I’ve told people, ‘I’ve got an army up the street waiting to cut wood.’ People, when they see us, are so happy they are in tears,” Green said.
In addition to King Street and East Hill Road, the team has done work on Ely, Cote, Upper Hampden and Wood Hill roads.
For Green, a Marine sergeant who went to Iraq twice, Monson represents another challenge.
“You can’t stop a mission until it’s done, and we’re not done,” Green said. “There are months and months of work still left.”
He’s had help from the sheriff’s department - his father Tony Green, a lieutenant and day shift commander at the Western Mass Regional Women’s Correctional Center, brought female prisoners out to assist one day.
They helped catch a goldfish in a crushed ornamental pond at Elizabeth “Bobbi” Williams’ damaged home at 21 King St. on a recent weekday.
Green said he’s been back to the Williams’ house several times, and has helped remove trees all over the property, sometimes using heavy equipment.
“We lost pretty much every tree on the property,” Williams said.
She said most of the homeowners lack enough insurance coverage to deal with such extensive tree removal, and that’s where Green’s team helps the most.
When Williams first walked into her home 21 years ago, she said it was her “dream house.” Now there is a chunk of the roof missing, cracks in the ceilings and walls. They are unsure if they can repair it.
Williams said they are so grateful to Green and his team.
“We call him our fifth son,” Williams said. “Once they cleared away a lot of the wood, they really gave us hope.”
“It’s been humbling . . . the amount of compassion total strangers have for you when they see you in need,” Williams said.
