Arlington Duncanson is the kind of guy you want to have around when disaster strikes. His physical strength, calm demeanor and propensity for helping others is what made a potentially life-saving difference when Caring Health Center recently fell victim to a powerful tornado on June first. As Facilities Coordinator at Caring Health Center for the past three years, Duncanson has a history of being called upon for sudden emergencies: burned out light bulbs, plumbing problems and electrical issues top the list. But on the first day of June, he found himself in a much more demanding scenario.

Arlington had just finished installing new lighting in the waiting room of the Main Street clinic when his colleague called him over to look out the window. "I saw what looked to be trash flying around," explains Duncanson. Not more than 30 seconds later, the sound of the wind was deafening. It was clear that the health center was in trouble.

Duncanson's colleague had sent her son to wait in the car while she finished up her shift just minutes before. Duncanson could hear her screaming, "My son went outside! My son is in the car!" Without hesitation, both Duncanson and front-desk employee Eddy Correa ran out to retrieve her frightened 9 year old.

Arlington describes the scene: "The kid was huddled down in the car. We grabbed him and carried him back to the health center but by then the door had been torn off. The second entry door was broken, too. There was no one around because everyone had run to find protection by that point. I tried to enter the punch code to get in the back entrance, but my hand was shaking so badly that I had to use my other one to steady it."

Duncanson managed to get in and was frantically trying to find somewhere to hide when he noticed a clinical assistant standing near a window in what appeared to be a state of shock. "I grabbed her under my arm," says Duncanson. They huddled together in the nearest corner with Duncanson shielding the woman with his body. Just minutes later, the large glass window she had been standing next to shattered and glass and debris began to fly everywhere. "The building next to ours, which ultimately was ruined by the storm, had a slate roof that began to break apart and ricochet onto us," explains Duncanson. "Imagine a ninja throwing those throwing stars, only stars made of glass, slate and lumber. Ceiling tiles began to rain down on our heads and I knew we had to move." They jumped up and ran deeper into the building where they came across a group of nurses who were praying.

"Then it just stopped," Duncanson says. "I was just in disbelief. Everyone was screaming, crying, trying to get in touch with their families." To compound the chaos, cell phone service was down, so no one could get in touch with anyone. About two minutes later, the sun came out and Duncanson went outside to find all the cars in the parking lot totaled, including his own.

In the aftermath of the tornado, Duncanson continued to exhibit selfless generosity and strong leadership skills. After helping one of the nurses change her tire so she could drive her damaged car home to check on her son, he set out to figure out how he could secure the health center. Fearful of looters in the center's now fully-exposed interior, he ran across the street to their expansion site and tore off some of the plywood covering the windows to try to cover the holes the tornado had created.

Originally from Jamaica, Arlington Duncanson moved to Massachusetts in 1983 and has been with Caring Health Center for 6 years. He initially worked as a men's health coordinator and later enrolling patients into Mass Health before assuming the role of Facilities Coordinator.

It was only mere chance that he happened to be at the Main Street Center when the tornado hit. "I was supposed to be at the Forest Park Site that afternoon but then one of the lights went out so I ended up having to stay to fix it." And I am sure many are grateful that he did.