The teenage sisters who narrowly survived when a tree crashed through the roof of their home credit a refrigerator for their escape.
Sisters Mariah and Ashley Stone described the horror ordeal that took place in their Lusby, Maryland home last week, in an interview that ran Thursday on Good Morning America.
‘It sounded like an earthquake,’ said Ashley, 15. ‘It’s definitely a sound that I think for both of us, we’ll never forget.’
The sisters were sitting in their living room watching TV with their dog Gizmo last Thursday afternoon when the tree uprooted and smashed through the roof.
Sisters Mariah and Ashley Stone described the horror ordeal that took place in their Lusby, Maryland home last week
![The family says a stainless steel refrigerator stopped the tree trunk from falling further](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/24/15/20138228-7609809-image-m-4_1571929065176.jpg)
The family says a stainless steel refrigerator stopped the tree trunk from falling further
‘Everything fell on top of us, between the tree and insulation and the ceiling,’ said Ashley.
Incredibly, neither of the sisters was seriously injured by the falling branches and debris.
‘A tree just fell on the house!’ one of the sisters cried in a phone call to their father moments after the impact.
‘She was like, ‘dad we’ve lost everything, we don’t have a house’,’ father Francis Stone recalled.
‘Don’t worry about that, if y’all are ok, get out of the house!’ the worried dad responded.
Francis rushed home from work and couldn’t believe the devastation.
‘I opened the door, that was what broke me down,’ Stone said. ‘It was pretty bad because I realize how lucky my daughters were.’
The family credits their stainless steel refrigerator, which the main trunk of the tree landed on, stopping if from falling all the way to the living room floor and potentially killing the sisters.
![The girls can be sitting watching TV in their living room oblivious to the impending danger](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/22/21/20052918-7601935-image-a-106_1571774871010.jpg)
The girls can be sitting watching TV in their living room oblivious to the impending danger
![Terrifying footage shows the moment a tree crashed through the roof of a house as two teenage girls and their dog were in the living room](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/22/21/20052902-7601935-image-a-115_1571774964723.jpg)
Terrifying footage shows the moment a tree crashed through the roof of a house as two teenage girls and their dog were in the living room
‘If that fridge wasn’t there — who knows what would have happened,’ said Ashley. ‘The situation could’ve been completely different.’
Her sister Mariah, 14, added, ‘That refrigerator saved our lives.’
The family has been staying in an area hotel since the disaster, and a GoFundMe campaign to help pay their expenses has raised nearly $3,000.
Ring home surveillance footage, obtained by Fox5, shows the moment the tree crashed through the roof.
All of a sudden there is a loud thud and the ceiling can be seen caving in as one of the girls gets up to assess the damage.
Screaming can then be heard as one of the girls standing up looks under rubble saying she has to find something. Somebody can be heard saying ‘I gotta find Gizmo,’ in apparent reference to the dog.
More screaming and inaudible talking can then be heard as large planks of wood from the ceiling are seen on the floor of the house.
![One of the girls can be seen standing up as she goes to check on her sister after the incident](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/22/21/20052898-7601935-image-a-121_1571776043411.jpg)
One of the girls can be seen standing up as she goes to check on her sister after the incident
Fortunately the girls were not seriously injured, Fox5 reported. The girls’ father told the outlet that a stainless steel refrigerator was in the kitchen behind the girls.
This prevented the tree from fully falling through the living room and likely could have saved their lives.
Many Facebook users watched the footage and expressed their relief that no one was injured.
From their joint Facebook account, the parents of the girls claimed that they were doing ‘okay.’ They claimed: ‘We are doing ok – we are just thankful that our girls and puppy made it out ok!! Thank you for all the prayers!.’
![More screaming and inaudible talking can then be heard as large planks of wood from the ceiling are seen on the floor of the house](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/22/21/20052888-7601935-image-a-116_1571775143928.jpg)
More screaming and inaudible talking can then be heard as large planks of wood from the ceiling are seen on the floor of the house
![Terrifying footage shows the moment a tree crashed through the roof of a house as two teenage girls and their dog were in the living room](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/22/21/20052886-7601935-image-a-105_1571774862179.jpg)
Terrifying footage shows the moment a tree crashed through the roof of a house as two teenage girls and their dog were in the living room
One Facebook user wrote in response to them: ‘OMG… couldn’t imagine the horror those parents felt hearing their babies screaming with such fear! Thank God they were all safe!! Praying for continued emotional and mental healing!!’
Another one wrote: ‘The mother in me wanted to jump through the screen and run to those poor girls.
‘Their screams ripped my heart out. So relieved to know that they were not seriously hurt, and praying for them as I know it will take a while to get over that terrifying incident.’
It is not certain whether the tree collapse was due to adverse weather or if human error caused it to fall.