A feel good story from St Tammany Fire District #1.
More than 170 volunteers, including four firefighters from St. Tammany Parish Fire District #1, traveled to Mayfield, Kentucky, June 6-18, to build a fully accessible home in less than two weeks for a local Army veteran whose house was destroyed by an F4 tornado on December 10, 2021.
Captain/EMT Jason Cetrone and Fire Operator/Paramedic John Fourcade, retired Training Officer Eric Abney and retired Fire Operator Freddy Eisemann, along with volunteers from around the country, are building a 2,300 square ft., mortgage-free accessible home for disabled Army veteran Tim Andreasen and his family.
The group is part of A Soldier’s Journey Home, a non-profit organization that builds homes for seriously injured veterans in concert with the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Two weeks before Christmas, Andreasen, his children, Lane, 8, and Lillie, 10, along with his disabled mother and stepfather, were at home watching the approach of severe weather in their area. At 9:25 p.m., Andreasen lost power and received an emergency alert. He gathered his children and within seconds, his home was hit by the tornado.
Miraculously, his entire family survived, but his home was destroyed and the damage to the surrounding community was catastrophic.
