Gift tree goes wild

By Kelly Yates
A HALLAM man got the shock of his life when a 15-metre tree crashed through his house during the wild weather that ripped through Casey last week.
John James was in the kitchen of his Kays Avenue house last Thursday when he heard a “phenomenal crash” around midday.
The 63-year-old discovered the iron -bark tree, which was given to him as a present from one of his children nearly 30 years ago, had fallen onto the roof, just metres away from his bedroom.
Narre Warren SES unit controller Tim Howell said it was fortunate Mr James was not in the immediate area when the tree fell.
“The size of the split tree could have seriously injured or caused fatal injuries to Mr James,” Mr Howell said.
“All trees falling pose a risk to life and property. All members of the community need to be mindful of the increased possibility in wild weather conditions.”
Mr James said he had no idea what the loud crash was until he went outside and saw the tree lying on the roof.
“The tree not only damaged our roof but also the water tank and clothes line.”
Mr James called the Narre Warren SES straight away, with crews spending two hours and 45 minutes clearing the tree and putting a plastic tarp over the roof.
Mr James, who is the president of the Endeavour Hills Lions Club, was home alone at the time of the incident.
“My wife Judy was working and was shocked when she got home and saw the SES crews and heard their chainsaws going,” he said.
The couple have been living in the house since 1978.
Mr Howell said it was nice to help someone in the community who had spent years helping others in the community.
The Narre Warren SES was called out to 30 jobs in the City of Casey during the storms, with most being for building damage and trees which had fallen down, causing traffic hazards.
Narre Warren was the most affected area.
“We were called out to one job on Wednesday night and then the rest were from Thursday morning onwards,” he said.
“The crews finished their clean up efforts by midnight on Thursday.”
Mr James praised the efforts of the SES crews.
He is still waiting for assessors to determine the total damage bill.