CLARKSVILLE, Ohio — David Bailey was watching the news for weather updates early Thursday morning when a tornado warning near his Clarksville home sent alerts to his and his wife's phones.
The alert woke his wife in the bedroom, where she grabbed her raincoat and crossed the kitchen to leave the home for a safer place. Bailey entered the bedroom from the kitchen, grabbed his own coat and turned back to leave.
At that moment, a massive tree from his backyard crashed into Bailey's kitchen, sending supports crashing through his attic and through the room just inches from his face.
"Two seconds later, I'd have been right there," he said, standing in the bedroom's door frame.
While we talked with him, Bailey turned and pointed to the ceiling fan dangling from a cord over his bed.
He said the fan hit him in the head after the tree nearly cleaved his house into two pieces, but, miraculously, that was the only minor injury he and his wife sustained from the line of storms that wreaked havoc across Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
"We're thankful," Bailey said, standing outside his wrecked home. "God took care of us. These things can be replaced."
WATCH: David Bailey walks us through his destroyed home
The American Regulators Disaster Response team that WCPO profiled following Sunday's line of storms spent Thursday afternoon and evening pulling salvageable items from the home and cutting up the tree that lay on it.
Administrative Assistant Valerie Clark said her teams spent Wednesday evening storm spotting and jumped into action again Thursday.
"Our team has been on the go, very little sleep, very little downtime, but this is what we do," Clark said.
Bailey's family called Clark's team helpful beyond their physical assistance.
Angie Overdeck was helping the Baileys before the team arrived.
"They're so kind and wonderful, and we're able to smile and laugh right now because of them, which is huge," Overdeck said.
Clark said volunteers are crucial to their mission, and much of what they do depends on donations.
The American Regulators don't charge property owners for the work they do.
Standing with a mangled mess of wood and siding behind her, Clark said the team would continue working until they helped as many people affected by severe weather as possible.
"This behind me is why we do what we do," she said. "If you woke up tomorrow and this is your home, what would you do?"
If you'd like to help, you can reach the American Regulators through their website or Facebook page.
