When a storm sent a silver maple crashing through Gilbert Kirk’s roof, the 71-year-old Kansas resident asked for one thing: a tarp to keep the weather out.
Help arrived two days later. A visitor to Kirk’s Wyandotte County home promised to return with supplies and people ready to work. Kirk wasn’t sure what to expect. “OK, whatever, you know,” he recalled. Soon, the visitor was back with lumber, followed by trucks and a crew.
The storm had left Kirk and his dog, Beetle, trapped beneath the collapsed roof for hours. With the opening now covered and fans helping dry the inside of the house, the two have some welcome shelter again.
“Oh, it’s unbelievable, the way the community has come together,” Kirk told KCTV 5.
In a Facebook post, the people who helped cover the roof identified themselves as local residents Kirk Mata, Steven Vega, Dominic Foreman, and Brigette Henson. Another neighbor, Phil Lopez, said he had helped Kirk remove the fallen tree from the house.
“He [Kirk] has called me every day to tell me thank you,” Vega wrote. “We just did what was right and needed to be done.”
