When a storm knocked out power in this Iowa town, Harold McClure might have been in dire straits had it not been for his inventive neighbor.
McClure’s health issues requires him to be hooked up to oxygen tanks 24 hours a day, but when his house lost electricity earlier this week, his tanks only had enough power to last for a few hours.
Luckily, his neighbor, Joe Gazelle, is a tinkerer.
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A few years ago, Gazelle had created a contraption that generated electricity when attached to a lawnmower. After being untouched for almost half of a decade, the inventor dug out the device and started it up.
It ran like a charm, providing emergency power for a neighbor in need.
“It sat for the last four and a half, five years and hadn’t been ran. And to my surprise, as I was hoping it would, it performed just like it did when we developed our prototypes years ago,” Gazelle told WHO-TV. “It’s sitting there running right now, and getting the oxygen bottles filled back up for him.”
Gazelle’s device was able to power McClure’s oxygen tanks until lights were restored in their Indianola neighborhood.
(WATCH the interview below)
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