LONGMONT, Colo. — When the hail hit, the Glass Doctor of Longmont got busy. Denise Sisco said calls began coming in around 1 a.m. Wednesday – right after damaging hail pounded northern Colorado.
"You roll out of bed and you’re like, I don’t even get a chance to get a cup of coffee, and you’re heading down to your shop because you want to help people who are in distress," she said.
Two days later, Sisco said things feel less chaotic, but the shop still has about 40 requests for quote.
"Hail is considered comprehensive, so even though you might have glass coverage, the hailstorm falls under comprehensive, so your deductible’s going to be different," she said. "Some people would rather just pay out of pocket."
Sisco was interrupted by a phone call from another caller with a shattered windshield. Meanwhile, in the back of their office, Bill Sisco, Denise's husband, worked to replace the windshield of a Mountain View Fire and Rescue ambulance.
"This is one of the ways you can extract a windshield," said Bill Sisco, using a piece of string and a suctioned ratchet.
Mountain View Fire and Rescue said four of their apparatus were damaged by hail, and several buildings had roof damage.
"We’re human, our vehicles are regular vehicles, they’re not armored," said Rick Tillery, Mountain View's public information officer. "So when something like that comes through and it causes damage to other people’s vehicles, we’re gonna sustain the same kind of damage."
The Glass Doctor is prioritizing emergency vehicles to get them back on the road, but Bill Sisco said their shop might be slower than others.
"They’re in and out in 30 minutes," Bill Sisco said. "That’s not good work, and during a hailstorm, that’s what you’re going to get."
Slowly but surely, they'll work to fix each car. And Denise will get a chance to drink her morning coffee.
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