Lisa Marchesoni
Posted: Sunday, May 31, 2009 7:18 am

Gary Holt of New Life Construction and Sam Wright of Home Pro, prepare shingles to be placed on one of the many damaged homes in the Riverview area during the Good Friday Tornado. TMP/Chad Mason

Dr. George and Betty Hester enjoyed their custom-built home for 30 years in the Riverview subdivision until the Good Friday Tornado demolished it.

“It’s very sad and it’s a major loss when you consider 30 years of work is blown away in 10 seconds,” Betty Hester said. The Hesters are among 117 families who lost their homes in a 23.5-mile stretch of destruction April 10. Almost 300 other homes sustained major damage.

Trustee Teb Batey said the tornado caused $41.8 million damage to 845 homes and 28 businesses.

Homeowners are working with insurance companies to recoup their losses while government agencies are trying to recoup more than $6 million in costs responding to the tornado. The Hesters, who were at Good Friday services at First United Methodist Church when the tornado struck, returned to discover their destroyed home. They salvaged some property stored in the spared closets of their home.

Friends, ministers and members of First United Methodist Church, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church Disaster Team and members of Northside Baptist Church and North Boulevard Church of Christ helped them save their belongings.

Murfreesboro Police, who protected the neighborhood from vandalism, made a tremendous difference in the community and family and friends uplifted people whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

Like many tornado victims, the Hesters are recovering from the shock and have not decided if they will rebuild. “We’re in a rental house until we decide what we’re going to do,” Betty Hester said. “Our insurance is with State Farm and they’ve been most helpful.”

The Hesters are grateful for their lives, their health, their children and their friends. “Friends are a treasure that are not lost in a storm,” she reflected. They are trying to concentrate on what they have and not what they’ve lost.

Like the Hesters, Nima and Angela Farzaneh of the Regency Park subdivision are recovering from $200,000 in damages when the tornado lifted up the roof of their home and the roof at the home of her parents, Melvin and Latha Watson, who lived about one block away.

“There was so much devastation that day,” Farzaneh recalled. “When I got home, everything was covered with glass and water. It was still raining. We were grabbing anything we could to move it from where the roof was off.”

The one irreplaceable item they lost was the wedding album her parents gave them as a gift 18 years ago. She rented pods the next day and her husband’s co-workers at Nissan “and people we didn’t even know came and helped move everything.” Men from McMinnville brought Bobcats and moved trees.

They are grateful for the help.

“I don’t think you’ll find anywhere in the world that would help you like the South,” Farzaneh said, adding, “I’d rather live here than anywhere else.” Both the Farzanehs and the Watsons plan to rebuild their homes.

While negotiating with insurance adjusters, the Farzanehs rented a two-bedroom apartment near downtown while her parents rented a home. She compared the move to starting over. They hired Robert Warren, a structural engineer, to check the damage from the rafters to the foundation. Warren met with their insurance adjuster but the settlement remains unresolved.

Assistant Director Tim Hooker of the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency said it’s a bit disgruntling to see the number of damaged houses. “It’s sad to still see some of the houses with not a lot of progress to get these people’s lives in order,” Hooker said.

Regarding the progress of damaged homes, Murfreesboro Deputy City Manager Rob Lyons said the city codes department tried to make personal contact with residents whose homes suffered minor damage to get an update about the demolition process and insurance review. “There are a number of structures that need to have work done on them,” Lyons said. “We are getting updates from those property owners.”

Government recovery Hooker said emergency responders and city and county governments kept records to justify the need for a federal disaster declaration, which was obtained. Government officials and utility representatives met with Federal Emergency Management Agency and Tennessee Federal Emergency Management Agency workers Wednesday to learn how to recoup losses for first responder costs.

Lyons said the agencies will provide detailed documents such as time sheets, invoices and contract costs to FEMA to obtain reimbursements.

The city of Murfreesboro spent $6.3 million in responding to the tornado. “Generally speaking, FEMA will reimburse 75 percent of the costs, the state of Tennessee 12-1/2 percent and the city will bear the remaining 12-1/2 percent,” Lyons explained.

Assistant Police Chief Roy Fields said police officers worked 12-hour shifts for more than three weeks to protect the affected areas from thefts and vandalism, costing about $500,000 plus benefits. The city paid lodging for Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers who came from all over Tennessee to help secure the city.

“I can’t stress enough the community coming together and working so well together,” Fields said “It made our job along with other departments so much easier with the volunteerism and the willingness to help each other.”

Fields thanked the state and U.S. senators and representative and Gov. Phil Bredesen for working to obtain the federal disaster declaration so the departments could recoup the costs. Fire Chief Cumbey Gaines said the tornado cost the fire department $35,775 for overtime and costs related to the search and rescue operations. Assistant Chief Gary Farley said the citizens of the city and county should be pleased with the government and emergency response to the tornado.

“The citizens were taken care of like they should have been,” Farley said. At the Emergency Medical Services, Public Information Officer Randy White said the department seeks $4,225 in overtime costs for off-duty paramedics who responded. EMS normally runs 14 ambulances each day.

“We put nine (reserve) ambulances on the road in 30 minutes,” White said. “We used mostly administrative staff. All of our administrative staff are paramedics.”

Ambulances transported 19 patients to Middle Tennessee Medical Center. Paramedics patrolling on bikes and four-wheelers were on duty Saturday following the tornado to treat people for injuries such as stepping on nails. “It made me proud,” White said.

Disaster needs Responding to the tornadoes showed departments a need for more equipment and manpower. At the fire department, Gaines said firefighters lacked enough mobile radios, walkie-talkies, medical supplies and GIS maps. Some items will be sought next budget year.

They’ve already tried to add medical supplies to all vehicles. Now, every engine has a map for each district.

“I dread the day if we have a similar incident but we will be better prepared for it,” Gaines said. “My philosophy is if you strive for perfection, you should never be less than adequate. You try to be the best of the best. If you do that, you won’t be inadequate.”

Fields said Lt. Sanders Watson, who handles purchasing, and Bill Terry, who oversees technology, have a wish list for the command center, but he’s not sure if it’s economically feasible during a recession.

“We have made suggestions in case of a future event,” Fields said. White said they could always use more ambulances since the fleet is older now, manpower, rescue equipment and gear. Lyons said department heads are critiquing the response to make adjustments in case of another disaster.

For example, a planner will be sent to the county and electric department operations centers to obtain information during future events to improve communications. “Generally speaking, we had no major holes in our response but there is always room for improvement,” Lyons said.

The disaster showed the importance of preparedness. “Had we not planned and trained and gotten ready before the storm ever hit, we would not have been in position to respond as efficiently and quickly as we did,” Lyons said.

Hooker said there’s always room for improvement. “We will review and take corrective action to mitigate shortfalls,” Hooker said.

For Farzaneh, the tornado loss taught she could live with less and be happy. For instance, her mother fixed dinner for the family but didn’t have a potato masher to mash potatoes or a rolling pin to make biscuits. She used a mixer to mash the potatoes and a glass to roll the biscuits. “We all sat down and had dinner,” Farzaneh said.