Tree Falls on South Orange Home

A South Orange resident is picking up the pieces after a tree fell on her house while her young daughter was sleeping.

No one was injured but Janet Epp-Rosenthal had a good scare when a town tree fell on top of her Warren Court home, Thursday, damaging the roof and gutters.

Neighbor Rachael Barish was at the home between 10 and 11 p.m. when the tree hit.

“There were six people in the house, five adults and (Epp-Rosenthal's) daughter, who slept through the whole thing,” said Barish. The group of women were in the downstairs living room at the time.

The tree, which was rooted next to the street, fell back into the roof of the master bedroom, putting a hole in the roof, a crack in the wall, knocked down gutters and blocked the front door and neighbor's driveway.

“We were sitting, hanging out and talking when we heard this rumbling and had no idea what was going on, we thought it was an earthquake,” said Barish. “Went to the front door, and all we saw was branches covering the front door. Went around back and the whole neighborhood was out looking at the tree.”

The South Orange Fire Department determined that the house was safe to be occupied and the tree was removed by the town the following morning.

According to Barish, the tree was rotted for some time and was coming up breaking the sidewalk and curb. Neighbors had previously reached out to the town but it was not taken care of, she said.

Township officials were unavailable for comment.