July Fourth storm damages DJ trailer just days before wedding event
As communities across Connecticut continue cleaning up from severe storms that swept through the state on the Fourth of July, one Torrington business owner is racing against the clock to save his livelihood.
Josh Drobena, owner of 860 Events, saw the damage to his equipment trailer for the first time after a large tree limb crashed through its roof during the storm.
“Let’s see what it looks like. I guess,” Drobena said as he approached the trailer.
The trailer, which was parked near a church, was struck by a limb measuring about 4 to 5 inches thick, leaving multiple holes in the roof.
“The roof got completely torn up,” Drobena said. “Some of the branches just punctured straight through and not like just twig branches either, but like 4 or 5-inch thick. I mean, it’s like a mortar shell coming through an aluminum roof.”
Inside the trailer is the equipment Drobena relies on to run his DJ business, some of which he has owned for nearly two decades.
“Some of that equipment goes back with me 15, maybe almost 20 years,” Drobena said. “It’s definitely going to be a lot to go through some things. There are new models I can replace easily enough. Some other things have been out of production for a while, so it’s going to be bittersweet to look at.”
The damage comes just days before Drobena is scheduled to DJ a wedding on Saturday.
“I’m a full-time paramedic student,” he said. “I think I have, between this moment and Saturday, all of about six hours free.”
Drobena and his partner, Brittany Hill, have turned to social media, sharing photos of the damaged trailer and asking for help finding someone who can repair it before their next event.
Their immediate priority is preventing more rain from getting inside the trailer and causing additional damage to thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment.
“Like I never would have in the last 15 years guessed that a tree is going to fall and just crush most of what I’ve got going on here,” Drobena said. “That was not on my bingo card whatsoever.”
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