Metcalf Road Weathers Tropical Storm Irene

Tolland may be sweeping away the last of the debris from , but residents like Jay Burns will always at least, be able to keep one story from the memorable storm.

Burns and his neighbors on Metcalf Road were trapped on their road for almost four days, hemmed in by downed trees and poles. A pole blocking the corner of Grant Hill Road and Metcalf Road, as well as a downed tree further up the street, made it almost impossible to get out of the area.

Fortunately, through some old-fashioned teamwork and extensive preparation, the neighbors pooled their resources to get through the isolation and lack of power.

“Every day we would walk our dogs, so we’d all communicate in the morning,” Burns said. Burns, a welder with Town & Country Builders, as well as Pleasant Mount Welding in Pennsylvania, was able to give his neighbors the gift of power with his three generators.

“I’ve got a back up for everything,” he said.

Burns says that he was able to lend his generators out to neighbors for the four long days of isolation. While he was also prepared with food and water, the Tolland Emergency Operations Center was there to ensure that all of the Metcalf Road residents were surviving.

“They were grateful and surprised at the same time,” said Public Safety Officer Angelo Fichera, who was part of the team going door–to-door Monday through Wednesday, handing out bottled water and pre-packaged meals. Fichera said that they reached the residents living from about 68 to 170 Metcalf Road using a Utility Task Vehicle or UTV.

When the residents’ basic needs were met, Burns said that there certainly was a relaxing element to the forced isolation.

“You get back to having a real conversation,” Burns said. “It changes the hustle and bustle.”

With the roads cleared and almost all of Tolland back with power, however, Burns said that it’s certainly good to have the town back to normal.

“It wasn’t enjoyable, but it was survivable."