House Surrounded by Water,
Couple Evacuated by Boat
By Sara Nelson

When Kyle Southworth headed home after work last Wednesday, she didn’t know the extent of the flooding she would find at her property. She also didn’t know she would witness the boat rescue of her next-door neighbors.

The drama began to unfold when Southworth and her husband, Greg, were met at their road, Bear Hill Road near East Braintree, by a fire truck from the Randolph Village Fire Department, and were told they wouldn’t be able to go home because the road was closed.

"We told them we lived in the first house and were sure we could get through," Southworth said. The firefighters agreed to let them through, and mentioned that Southworth’s next-door neighbors, George and Jeanne Kendall, who were planning to stay in their house, would need water. When the Southworths offered to bring some over, they got a clue about the level of damage they would find when the firefighters "laughed and said we wouldn’t be able to get there."

"We thought they were crazy, because the Kendall’s house is 25 feet away from ours," she said.

However, when the Southworths pulled up to their house, they found out what the firefighters were talking about.

"There was a river between the two houses." In fact, the Kendalls’ house was completely surrounded by water, Southworth said.

Southworth said the firefighters arrived and began discussing whether the newly-formed river could be crossed safely. Southworth said at some point the Kendalls decided it would be safest to evacuate, and she knew the evacuation would be complicated because George is in a wheelchair and Jeanne recently had knee surgery.

The river’s depth was quickly gauged by Southworth’s Brittany Spanial, Echo, who ran through the water to the Kendall home, showing that it wasn’t very deep.

And the problem of transporting the couple was solved by Tommy and Lisa Jacobs, who showed up soon after with their rowboat in the bed of their pickup truck.

"Todd Bent’s wife, Shannon, called my wife and asked if we could bring it up," said Jacobs. Todd Bent is the chief of the Randolph Village Fire Department.

Jacobs said he helped the firefighters pull the boat through the water, which, although only "eighteen inches deep," was moving so quickly, "you could feel the silt being pulled up under your feet," Jacobs said. He said it was also raining heavily.

Kyle Southworth watched firefighter Loren Bent lift George Kendall’s wheelchair into the boat. Another firefighter carried the Kendall’s dog to safety.

By Thursday, the water had receded, leaving what Southworth described as a "Martian landscape," with "rocks and dirt everywhere." She said the her neighbor’s garage had been eroded so that their car was "hanging in midair." Southworth said the wells of both houses were flooded, and that her family wouldn’t be able to drink the water until it tested clean.

"But the great thing is that everyone is okay," said Southworth, who also expressed appreciation for all the people who came together to help out.

Tom Jacobs said that’s simply what people in small towns do when someone needs help.

"You lend a hand when you can, and vice-versa, when you need help, people will do the same."