Australian Building & Construction Group Emergency Make Safe

Objectives

To undertake an emergency tree make safe on a residential property located in Home Hill, a rural Far North Queensland town, 97km south of Townsville.

A large Ficus (fig tree) became uprooted during a severe weather event, subsequently impacting the verandah and causing damage to the roof's eaves and surrounding fencing.

Our Tree Partner, Gough Tree Services were engaged to assess and provide a costing to make safe and remove all debris from site, including the removal of the uprooted root ball.

Challenges

• The location of where the tree had impacted and was resting on the verandah.

• Fig trees having large, heavy and multiple entwined stems within the canopy make a challenging and complex removal when being dismantled.

• Fig trees contain a milky sap that is toxic to humans and pets. When the sap makes contact with the skin and is exposed to sunlight, skin irritations such as burns and blisters occur.

• Root ball removal method could not be ascertained until the tree barrel had been removed to see what the root ball would do once the tree weight was released i.e., stand back up or remain uprooted.

Solutions

Key to successfully fulfilling the job scope requirements are the roles of our customer care and operations team members who acted swiftly to organise our closest Tree Partner and scheduling attendance.

Engaging our Tree Partner with the correct machinery, matched with their knowledge and expertise, the make safe was completed successfully without further property damage. The root ball was removed completely with the area back filled and leveled out to remove trip hazards.

The next repair trade was able to attend, and we were able to give the insured their beautiful country views back.