There are many ways that people can help clean up the devastation from Hurricane Irma, but one nun found a particularly awesome way to do so: use a chainsaw to clear the debris.
Sister Margaret Ann, the principal of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School, was blocked from traveling through a road close to southwest Miami-Dade County due to some fallen tree branches, so she took matters into her own hands by taking a chainsaw out of the closet of her school.
An off-duty police officer took the following video of Ann using the chainsaw:
“We teach our students ‘do what you can to help,’ and so this was an opportunity where I could do something to help,” Ann told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Ann added that the off-duty police officer who took the video told her that she didn’t have to saw away the debris and the police would handle it, but Ann replied that then it would take “too long” and that the debris was “dangerous.”
“There was a need and I did what I could to help out,” Ann said.
Ann was eventually joined by others.
“Other people stopped to help, it was great,” said Ann. “Some of the alumni from our school saw what I was doing, they recognized the habit and the sisters, so they came to help out and it became a really good community project.”
It should be noted that what Ann did was not easy: (H/T: People)
Cleaning up areas hit by a storm is a very hazardous task, especially when working with chainsaws.
The dangerous task of storm cleanup should be handled with many precautions including the risk of encountering electrical fires and fallen wires.
In addition, tension in fallen trees can cause unexpected movement when cutting them, making the limbs pop out and hurting you, or hitting your equipment, or causing the trunk to move and make you stuck.
Ann’s school wrote on their Facebook page, “We are so blessed to have her and the Carmelite Sisters at our school. We are proud of the example they show for our students and other members of the community every day.”
In the aftermath of a truly devastating storm, what could be more uplifting than a nun using a chainsaw to help clear debris?