First responders help Mesa family whose house was damaged by falling tree during monsoon

MESA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - On Tuesday, the east deputy chief of Mesa fire rolled by a house to see how the family was doing after the monsoon knocked over a massive tree, damaging the home.

The chief soon realized just how much help the family needed.

"We don't know what to do, we don't have insurance and no one has helped us understand how to get through this," Tia Oso said. "He [the deputy chief] said 'you know, we're going to help you out.'"

By 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, off-duty Mesa firefighters and police officers were standing in Tia Oso's mom's front yard removing the huge tree that toppled over during the monsoon on Monday.

"We initially talked about donating some money to have a tree service come out, but clearly this is a very big job and they needed all the help they could get, so we did a little bit of both both associations donated to have a tree service come out," said Nate Gafvert of the Mesa Police Association.

They also rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

"We just want to be engaged in the community, we want the community to know that we are always there for them," Scott Crawford said.

Tia Oso became emotional while watching the cleanup. Her heart was heavy with the memories from her childhood, the same way the tree weighed down on the house.

"That tree has been here my whole entire life and it's really painful," she said.

Her mom, who was disabled by a stroke in 2009, was inside and injured and is recovering.

"She's fine, they are taking very good care of her at the hospital, so I'm very grateful for that very grateful for everybody that is helping," Tia said.

The crew out here is hopeful they'll be able to find a crane so they can remove the rest of the tree from the property.

GoFundMe: Monsoon Storm Destroys Family Home
https://www.gofundme.com/MonstoonStormDestroysHome?member=417728