A New Jersey plumber drove his family to Texas to help with repairs after devastating storm
When a Winter storm Devastated in Texas earlier this month, the crisis hit Andrew Mitchell. Mitchell lives in New Jersey, but as a plumber he saw how much work had to be done when pipes frozen and burst in homes across the Lone Star State. So he and his family decided to help.
Mitchell’s wife, Kisha Pinnock, has a sister who lives in Houston. Pinnock told CBS News that after speaking with her sister, she realized how devastating the storm was. “We really learned firsthand how bad it was,” said Pinnock. “That’s when she told us what happened to her colleagues, her neighbors, her friends.”
Millions across the state were left without electricity and water. Mitchell, who is on some plumbers facebook groups, started seeing posts about the need for plumbers in Texas.
Mitchell’s Plumbing & Heating LLC
“They just said, ‘We need help, we need help,'” Pinnock told CBS News. “I said, ‘This is your time.’ Everyone has their time to really shine. And I said, “You have the skills, you have the credentials. There’s no reason you shouldn’t. You should just go.” “
Mitchell, the owner of Mitchell’s Plumbing & Heating, believed he needed to use his expertise to help others – even if they were approximately 1,600 miles away. On Sunday, the couple, their 2-year-old son, and Pinnock’s brother Isaiah packed a truck with plumbing supplies and drove to Houston for 22 hours.
Kisha’s sister had already started a few customers desperately looking for installation help, and word of mouth kept attracting them.
“A lot of customers told us that they couldn’t have a plumber on the phone, or if they could get a plumber on the phone, they couldn’t help them out for two weeks at most, four weeks at the most. So, during that time, you would have no running water at all,” Pinnock said, adding that even plumbing supplies are hard to come by in the area.
Mitchell and his brother-in-law visit six to ten houses a day, Pinnock said. The men were too busy to interview, and Pinnock told CBS News that they started at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and returned at 2 a.m.
Pinnock said they charge fees for their work, but “the fact is, if he wasn’t here, the families would have no water at all.” Mitchell also guides people through repairs for free through FaceTime if their problems don’t require his personal expertise.
How long they will stay, Pinnock said they will continue to help until the supplies they brought with them are used up. “I feel like my husband is really happy here and the calls just won’t stop,” she said. “And I just know if and when we go, there will still be a need. But we will definitely stay until we run out of materials. There is no end date for us right now. I think we will definitely be here.” a few more days. “
She added, “Often times when you see devastation, it could be all over the world, it could be all over the country, it could be in your own city, and you really feel like your heart is breaking with them and you can.” I’m not doing anything. But it’s like we really can. “
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