Kelmscott resident Andrew Brown has renewed his call for the City of Armadale to log a tree by his home, following what he described as a life-threatening incident.
On September 14, Mr Brown said his partner was nearly struck by a tree branch which pierced the roof of their greenhouse located at the base of their home.
“I’ve got a gaping branch right through our roof,” he said.
“My partner was a metre away – that could have killed my partner.
“If a healthy tree can kill my partner in high winds, I don’t care about the tree.
“I want it taken down.”
According to national weather agency Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) a strong cold front was moving through Western Australia on September 14.
“Bringing risk of damaging winds and potentially severe thunderstorms,” BOM said.
Mr Brown said his family had complained about the tree for about 12 years.
“It’s dangerous,” he said.
“But they don’t listen.”
In Andrew takes his tree fight to council (Examiner, March 6), Mr Brown said he and his neighbours extinguished four-foot flames which were licking his property’s back fence.
“I dread to think what would have happened if we went out that day and weren’t there to fight it,” Mr Brown said.
In response to the fire incident, Armadale chief executive Joanne Abbiss said the tree had been recently pruned and the city wouldn’t be taking further action.
“Liability for any injury, damage or loss involving private property is reported to the city’s insurers who undertake an assessment and investigation before making a determination,” Ms Abbiss said.
Safety is the city’s first priority during a major storm event, the city said on its public safety and maintenance practices webpage.
“All storm damaged trees will be made safe and cleared from the public rights of way in timely manner,” the city said.
Mr Brown said his partner, who uses the greenhouse every day, hasn’t been able to since the incident.
“But we’re not going to until we get the council assessor to come out,” he said.
“They can get their insurance to fix our broken roof.
“It’s their liability now that it’s life threatening or injury threatening.”
Mr Brown said he emailed the city about the incident on September 16 and was still waiting to be contacted by an assessor.
“If they’re not going to cut it down, I want 15 feet off the top canopy and the sides because I don’t want my partner injured or killed over a tree.”
The Examiner asked the city if it considered the incident an unacceptable level of risk; when the tree had been maintained in the past 10 years; and what actions it would take to address Mr Brown’s concerns.
“As the matter is subject to a claim, the City of Armadale is unable to provide further comment at this stage but can state that the tree has been maintained in accordance with the recommendations of an independent arborist,” Ms Abbiss said.
