Most tree emergencies in Central Florida arrive the same way: a summer thunderstorm or a tropical system, a crack you can hear from inside, and then a tree where it should not be. What you do in the next hour matters for your safety, for your insurance claim and for how much further damage the house takes before help arrives.
Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a tree company. Call (689) 407-5379 at any hour and an automated assistant answers, takes your name, number, city or ZIP and a short description, and transfers the call to an independent, locally owned tree service company that works in your part of the Orlando area. That company decides what it can do, quotes its own price and does the work.
The first hour after a tree comes down
- Get everyone clear. Move people and pets out of any room the tree has entered and away from the side of the house it is resting on. Damaged trees and roofs can shift again without warning.
- Call 911 if needed. Someone hurt, a power line on the ground or sparking, or the smell of gas are 911 calls, not tree calls.
- Treat every wire as live. Stay well away from a downed line and from anything touching it, including the tree, a fence or standing water. Duke Energy warns that floodwater and debris can hide lines.
- Report it to the utility. OUC, which serves the City of Orlando and St. Cloud, runs a 24-hour outage line at (407) 423-9018. Duke Energy takes reports at (800) 228-8485 and Kissimmee Utility Authority at (407) 933-9898.
- Take photos before anything moves. Shoot the tree, the roof, the inside ceilings, the car and the stump or root plate from several angles.
- Call the free line. Describe what the tree is on, whether a line is involved and whether rain is coming in.
What the tree landed on changes the job
Tell the assistant exactly where the tree is. It is the first thing the company needs to know.
On the house
The priority is stopping more damage. A crew takes the weight off the roof in planned pieces, never by dragging the trunk, then covers the hole with a tarp so rain stays out until a roofer can repair it. Do not go onto the roof or into the attic under the tree.
On a car
Leave the car where it is until it has been photographed for the auto insurer. A pinned vehicle is often holding part of the tree's weight, so lifting the tree off is a rigging job, not a pull with another vehicle.
Across the driveway or street
Clearing a path is usually the fastest part of an emergency job. If the tree is on a public road, call your city or county public works line instead. If it is tangled in wires, the utility goes first.
Notify your insurer early and keep the paper trail
The Florida Department of Financial Services advises policyholders to make and document the emergency repairs needed to prevent further damage, keep the damaged property where possible, keep all receipts, and take photographs and video before and after repairs. It also notes that your insurance company has 7 days to acknowledge a claim once you report it.
Do not wait for the storm news to quiet down. Under Florida Statute 627.70132, notice of a new or reopened property insurance claim must be given within one year after the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months. Ask the tree company for an itemized invoice that separates emergency work, such as removing the tree from the roof and tarping, from cleanup and stump grinding, so each piece can be matched against your policy. The who pays for tree removal guide goes deeper into coverage.
If you get stuck with a claim, the Department of Financial Services runs a free Insurance Consumer Helpline at 1-877-693-5236.
How emergency calls are sorted, and why the order makes sense
After a big storm, tree companies across Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties get far more calls than they have crews. A responsible company sorts them roughly like this:
- Trees on occupied homes, especially with rain getting in or people unable to get out.
- Trees blocking the only way in or out for someone who needs medical care.
- Standing trees that are cracked, leaning hard or hanging broken limbs over a house.
- Trees on cars, fences, sheds and pool cages.
- Trees down in open yards, and general debris.
If your tree is in the last group, you may wait days after a major storm, and that is not a brush-off. It is the crews working through the dangerous jobs first. Use the time to photograph the damage and get your insurer notified.
Why emergency tree removal costs more
HomeGuide's national cost guide says tree removal done on a rushed timeline often costs two to three times the standard rate. Angi's guide adds that emergency removal carries a premium when demand is high after storms, and that paying as much as $5,000 in an urgent situation is not unheard of. Those are national figures, and your quote depends on your tree. The reasons it costs more are real:
- A tree resting on a structure is loaded in ways a standing tree is not, so every cut has to be planned.
- Work at night needs lighting, and some companies will only stabilize the site in the dark and finish in daylight.
- Roofs, cars and pool cages limit where pieces can be lowered, which can mean a bucket truck or a crane.
- Crews are pulled off scheduled work or called in after hours.
Ask for the price in writing before the work starts, including what happens to the wood and whether the stump is included. A quote for "getting it off the roof" and a quote for "removing everything" are different jobs.
What to ask when the company picks up at night
You are tired and the rain may still be falling. Keep these questions next to the phone.
About the job
- What can you do tonight, and what waits until daylight?
- Will you tarp the roof or do I need a roofer for that?
- How will you take the weight off without more damage?
- Is the price for the emergency work only, or the full cleanup?
About the company
- Can your insurance agent email me a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation coverage?
- Does your company hold a local business tax receipt?
- Will I get an itemized invoice for my insurance company?
- Do you need payment before you start? If so, how much?
A tree on the roof: what a good crew does
The way a tree comes off a house decides whether the damage stays the size it is or gets bigger. A careful crew looks at where the trunk is bearing on the roof, which limbs are holding it up and which ones are pushing into it, and plans the cuts so the load comes off in a controlled way. Small branches come first, then the heavy wood, lowered on ropes or lifted clear by a crane rather than rolled down the shingles.
Do not climb onto the roof, cut limbs from a ladder or try to winch the tree off with a truck. Your part is to keep people out of the area, protect what you can from rain inside the house and get the right help on the phone.
Check the company yourself. Florida has no state license for tree trimming or removal, so ask the company for a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and for the ISA certification number of its arborist. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Tree on the house, a car or across the driveway? Call any hour. The automated assistant takes the details and puts you through to a local company, which tells you what it can do and what it will cost before it starts.
Related services
An emergency call often turns into more than one job.
Storm and Hurricane Tree Damage
Cleanup after a hurricane or a summer thunderstorm: hangers, split trunks, uprooted trees and what insurance usually covers.
Stump Grinding and Removal
Grinding stumps below grade, what happens to the roots and the chips, and when full stump removal makes more sense.
Crane Tree Removal
When a crane is the safest way to take a big tree over a house or pool, how a crane job is planned, and why it can cost less overall.
Tree Debris Removal and Hauling
Hauling limbs, logs and storm debris, what curbside pickup will and will not take, and when you need a crew.
How an emergency call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Orlando area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Orlando FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.
The line takes emergency calls from across the Orlando area:
- All Orlando-area service areas
- Orlando
- Kissimmee
- St. Cloud
- Clermont
- Winter Garden
- Ocoee
- Apopka
- Winter Park
- Altamonte Springs
- Longwood
- Lake Mary
- Sanford
- Oviedo
- DeLand