What to Do When a Tree Falls on Your House: Franklin Homeowner's Guide

July 2, 2026

It’s one of the most disorienting things that can happen to a homeowner: a crack, a crash, the sound of something heavy moving through your attic. A tree has come down on your house.

Franklin, TN and the surrounding Williamson County area experience more tree-related storm damage than most of the country. We sit in the path of Middle Tennessee’s active spring tornado and derecho corridor, and our residential neighborhoods — Westhaven, Fieldstone Farms, Sullivan Farms, and dozens of others — were built around the mature hardwood canopies that make the area beautiful but also vulnerable in severe weather. The March 2020 tornado outbreak, which tracked directly through Franklin, resulted in widespread structural tree damage across hundreds of properties in a single evening.

When a tree falls on your home, the next few hours matter — for your safety, for your property, and for your insurance claim. This guide walks you through every step, in order, from the moment the tree comes down through the cleanup.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 first. This guide is for the period after active danger has passed. If a tree has contacted a power line, do not approach the structure until the utility has cleared it.

Immediate Steps: The First 15 Minutes

Step 1: Get Everyone Out and Stay Out

Your first and only priority in the immediate aftermath is the safety of the people in the house. Get everyone out through a route that does not pass under or near the fallen tree. Do not stop to gather belongings. Once outside, move well away from the structure and the tree — a fallen tree under tension, or a tree still partially suspended in another tree, can shift or drop further without warning.

Keep children and pets away from the work area. Do not re-enter the house to assess damage until you have confirmed it is structurally safe to do so — a tree on a roof can compromise ceiling joists and cause secondary collapse in the affected rooms.

Step 2: Check for Utility Contact

Look — carefully, from a safe distance — for any sign that the tree or its branches are in contact with power lines. If any part of the tree is touching or draped across a utility line:

Do not touch the tree, any metal in contact with it, or any standing water in the area.
Call 911 and report utility contact immediately.
Call Nashville Electric Service (NES): 615-736-6900, or your applicable utility provider.
Do not let anyone approach the tree until the utility has confirmed the line is safe or de-energized.

Downed power lines remain energized and lethal even when they appear dead. Electricity can travel through the ground up to 35 feet from a downed line. Treat every utility contact as an active electrical hazard until a utility professional tells you otherwise.

Step 3: Call 911 if There Is Structural Risk

If the tree has collapsed part of the roof, if walls appear to have shifted, or if you smell gas, call 911 before anything else. Franklin Fire Department crews can assess structural integrity and shut off gas at the meter. Do not attempt to enter a structurally compromised area to assess damage yourself.

Once It’s Safe: Documenting for Your Insurance Claim

After immediate safety hazards are addressed, your next priority is documentation. Your homeowners insurance claim will rely heavily on the photographic and written record you create in the hours after the incident. Do this before any cleanup begins — even before the tree removal crew arrives.

Step 4: Photograph Everything Before Touching Anything

Use your phone to document the scene from multiple angles before anything is moved, cut, or covered. Specifically:

Wide shots showing the full tree, its root system (if uprooted), and the direction of fall
Close-up shots of every point of contact with the structure: roofline, walls, windows, gutters, outbuildings, fencing, vehicles
Interior shots of any visible damage from inside the house: ceiling impact, debris, water intrusion
Shots of the tree’s base and root system — insurance adjusters often want to see whether the tree was diseased or structurally compromised before the storm
Timestamp confirmation: most phone cameras embed the date and time in photo metadata, but take a photo of a clock or your phone screen showing the time if you want visible confirmation

Pro tip: Take a short video walk-around of the entire scene before your first still photo. A 60-second continuous video showing the full context of the damage is often more useful to an adjuster than individual photos.

Step 5: Call Your Insurance Company

Call your homeowners insurance provider’s claims line as soon as documentation is complete — most major insurers have 24/7 claim intake. When you call:

Have your policy number ready
State clearly that a tree has fallen on your structure and describe the points of contact
Ask specifically: does my policy cover emergency tree removal when the tree has contacted a covered structure?
Ask about emergency repairs: most policies allow you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage (such as tarping an exposed roof) before the adjuster arrives, and will reimburse those costs
Request a claim number and the name of the representative you spoke with

Most standard Tennessee homeowners policies cover tree removal when the tree has damaged a covered structure. Coverage for trees that fell in the yard without hitting anything varies significantly by policy. Your insurer’s answer to that question will determine how you proceed with removal scheduling.

Calling for Emergency Tree Removal in Franklin, TN

Step 6: Call a Licensed Tree Removal Service — Do Not DIY

This is the step where more injuries happen than any other. After the adrenaline of the initial event, it is tempting to start cutting — to clear the driveway, to pull the tree off the roof, to feel like you are doing something. Do not. Here is why:

Loaded wood is dangerous wood. A tree on a structure is under enormous compression and tension. Cutting the wrong branch or trunk section releases that stored energy instantly and unpredictably. The wood can kick, split, or spring in ways that are impossible to anticipate without professional training.
Root systems under uprooted trees are unstable. An uprooted tree that has fallen can roll or shift if weight distribution changes. Standing near the root ball while cutting is a significant hazard.
Roof penetration may be deeper than it looks. What appears to be surface contact from outside may involve structural members deeper in the roof. Removing the tree incorrectly can cause a partial ceiling collapse in the room below.
Chainsaws and adrenaline are a bad combination. Fatigue, stress, and unfamiliar equipment account for the majority of chainsaw injuries. Residential tree emergencies are consistently cited by emergency rooms as a major source of severe cutting injuries in the 24–48 hours following storms.

Kaily’s Tree Service provides emergency tree removal in Franklin, TN 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our crews are experienced in structure-contact tree removal, have the rigging equipment required to manage loaded and suspended wood safely, and carry full liability and workers’ compensation insurance. We dispatch from Nashville and reach most Williamson County neighborhoods within 20–30 minutes.

Call Kaily’s now: 615-496-1542. We answer 24/7. For structure-contact emergencies, we dispatch immediately.

What to Look for in a Franklin Tree Removal Company

If you are choosing among multiple tree removal services in Franklin, TN after a storm, verify these things before agreeing to any work:

Licensed and insured in Tennessee — ask for a certificate of general liability insurance and workers’ compensation before work begins. If they cannot provide one, do not hire them.
Written scope of work and price — verbal agreements after storm events are how homeowners end up with unexpected charges. Get the scope and price in writing.
No full payment upfront — a legitimate tree service company in Franklin, TN will accept a deposit and final payment after completion, not full payment before the crew starts.
Caution with door-to-door solicitation after storms — storm chasers drive through affected neighborhoods in the 24 hours after a major weather event. Some are legitimate; many are not licensed, insured, or local. Verify credentials independently before hiring anyone who knocks on your door.

After the Tree Is Removed: Next Steps

Step 7: Tarp the Roof Before It Rains Again

Once the tree is clear of the structure, any exposed roof area needs to be tarped immediately if rain is possible. In Franklin’s spring and summer storm seasons, a 24-to-48-hour window between storm events is common. Water intrusion into an exposed roof will compound your damage claim and your repair costs significantly. Your insurance policy likely covers emergency tarp installation as a “reasonable protective measure” — confirm with your claims representative and keep your receipts.

Step 8: Get a Structural Assessment

Before returning to full occupancy of the affected area of your home, have a licensed contractor assess the structural integrity of the roof system. Your insurance adjuster will likely require this before processing the repair claim in any case. If the tree contacted load-bearing elements, a structural engineer assessment may be required before repairs can begin.

Step 9: Schedule Stump Removal and Yard Cleanup

After the emergency is resolved, the stump remains. Stump grinding — the process of grinding the stump below grade using a mechanical grinder — prevents regrowth, eliminates a termite harborage point, and restores your yard for replanting or landscaping. It is typically not included in emergency tree removal pricing and is scheduled as a follow-up visit. Ask Kaily’s about combining stump grinding with your removal job while our equipment is already on your property — it is almost always cheaper than a separate visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does homeowners insurance cover a tree that falls on my house in Franklin, TN?

In most cases, yes. Standard homeowners insurance policies in Tennessee cover the cost of removing a tree that has damaged a covered structure — your home, garage, fence, or other insured outbuilding — and will cover repair costs up to your policy limits. A tree that falls in your yard without hitting a structure is a different situation: policies vary widely on whether they cover removal in that case, and many do not. If the fallen tree belonged to a neighbor, your own insurance still handles your damage claim; disputes about liability are a separate legal matter and rarely resolved quickly enough to be useful in the immediate term.

Should I call a tree company or my insurance company first?

Document first, then call both — but insurance slightly before tree removal if the situation is not actively worsening. Here is the logic: your insurance claim process starts with your first call, and getting a claim number in the system early is advantageous. However, if the tree is actively allowing water into your home or if there is ongoing structural risk, authorizing emergency removal to prevent further damage is appropriate and your policy’s “reasonable protective measures” clause should cover it. Call Kaily’s at 615-496-1542 if you are dealing with an active emergency and need removal to happen before you can reach your insurer.

How fast can an emergency tree removal company reach Franklin, TN?

Kaily’s Tree Service dispatches from Nashville and reaches most Franklin and Williamson County neighborhoods within 20–30 minutes of a call. Our emergency line — 615-496-1542 — is answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year. During major storm events that generate multiple simultaneous calls across Williamson County, response times may be longer; we will give you an honest arrival estimate when you call.

Is it safe to stay in my house after a tree falls on it?

It depends on the extent of the contact. If the tree has penetrated the roof or walls, compromised any structural member, or created an opening that exposes the interior to weather, you should stay out of the affected rooms until a structural assessment is complete. For minor contact — a branch on a roof with no penetration — the rest of the house is generally safe while the damage is documented and removal is scheduled. When in doubt, call Franklin Fire Department (via 911) to request a safety assessment. They are trained for exactly this kind of post-storm structural evaluation.

Need Emergency Tree Removal in Franklin, TN Right Now?

Kaily’s Tree Service has been the tree service company Franklin, TN homeowners depend on for storm emergencies, scheduled removals, and routine tree care for more than 24 years. We are licensed, bonded, and insured in Tennessee, and our emergency line is answered around the clock.

Call now: 615-496-1542 — 24/7, including weekends and holidays. We dispatch immediately for structure-contact tree emergencies across Williamson County.

Related Resources:

Emergency Tree Removal in Franklin, TN — 24/7 Response — Our Franklin emergency service page with full response details
Tree Removal in Franklin, TN — Licensed & Insured — Scheduled tree removal for residential and commercial properties across Williamson County
Tree Service Company in Franklin, TN — Full overview of tree services Kaily’s provides in Franklin and Williamson County