EAST NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A handwritten cardboard sign outside an East Nashville home caught the attention of a line crew, bringing power back to a family that had been without electricity for about 10 days following the recent storm.
Inglewood in East Nashville was hit hard by the storm, leaving many residents without power for extended periods.
"This power pole over here actually caught on fire," said Brianna Gehring, whose house lost power for nearly a week.
Gehring said her family, which includes two young children, struggled with the sudden disruption.
"We have two little kids, it was shocking how quickly life turned upside down," Gehring said.
She said her family got through the outage thanks to help from neighbors.
"Two different neighbors offered us generators," Gehring said.
After her power was restored, Gehring wanted to pay it forward.
An opportunity presented itself when she noticed her neighbors, Micah and Amber, who were on about day 10 without power, had resorted to making a cardboard sign to alert NES crews they were still in the dark.
After seeing the sign and speaking with Amber, Gehring got an idea.
She decided to make a sign for her neighbors and place it at her own house, which sits on a major road.
"We live on a major road and we've seen the crews going by," Gehring said. "If I could put a sign on my street, I thought maybe it could get noticed there."
The sign displayed Micah and Amber's address, directing crews to the family that needed help.
It also stated they have a baby at home.
Navigating a power outage with a six-month-old baby had been particularly challenging for the couple.
"With a baby you just feel so vulnerable," said Amber, a Inglewood, East Nashville neighbor.
Gehring put up the sign and took a picture to share with her neighbors.
"She texted it to us, and we just could not believe it, because you put a lot of time and effort into it," Amber said.
Amber and Micah posted the photo on an East Nashville Facebook group.
Within hours, a lineman working in the area sent them a Facebook message close to midnight, saying he had seen their post and had restored their power.
Whether it was the physical sign or the social media post about it, the Nashville family is now safe and warm thanks to their neighbors' efforts and a linemen working late into the night.
"It feels life-changing in a way to have gone through this and seen how people really show up for each other," Amber said.
Both families expressed appreciation for the hard work of all the lineworkers, especially in the cold conditions.
Multiple crews were observed working long shifts throughout the area.
This story was reported on-air by Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Coles verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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