Sheets of roofing iron stacked unsecured on the ground and flapping loosely on a house are an accident waiting to happen, two Wyndham residents say.
Graham Carter lives next door to a house which was badly damaged by fire on September 23 and Lindsay Anderson is two doors down.
Some of the roofing iron had been removed by firefighters and left on the ground, but the sheets on the house were being moved by strong winds lately, Mr Carter said.
“A lot of the iron has blown up against the perimeter fence that someone’s put up, probably the insurance company.
“You can hear it crashing and bashing and making all sorts of noise when the wind’s blowing,” he said.
The wind had also caused part of the house frame to collapse.
He estimated about 40 sheets were on the ground.
It was only a matter of time before the wind lifted the sheets over the fence and the men were concerned someone would be injured, they said.
“It’s public safety,” Mr Anderson said.
The street was a popular thoroughfare.
“Kids are walking up and down the road all the time.
“People use this as their fitness walk around the town.”
There was talk a digger would demolish the house.
“To my thinking, four or five weeks is too long unless they’re going to come and put sandbags on top of them to weigh them down,” Mr Anderson said.
Considering the high winds that had been predicted for the end of the week, they had decided to take action.
“You can see the sheets getting rumble tumbled along.”
As a former New Zealand Army military police officer, he felt it was his duty to intervene.
When he approached the Southland District Council earlier this week, he was told it was not a council problem.
However, when he contacted the New Zealand Police, their advice was to ring the council.
After a further conversation with a council staff member, he was advised the council would place a dangerous building notice on the fence.
“The high winds are going to take a lot of notice of that.”
Mr Carter said the situation was “unacceptable” and “irresponsible”.
“Somebody’s got to take responsibility for weighing the sheets down,” he said.
“It’s not hard to get a half dozen sandbags.”
Mr Carter had tried to contact house owner Ian Eunson but had not been successful.
A New Zealand Police spokesperson confirmed police were not able to help with the problem as it was a civil matter.
The Southland District Council said all responsibilities lay with the property owner.
The council could give advice but it was ultimately the responsibility of the property owner.
Mr Eunson, who is a firefighter, did not return phone calls when contacted yesterday.
He was also contacted at his work on Wednesday but was not available for comment.
sandy.eggleston@odt.co.nz
www.odt.co.nz
https://www.odt.co.nz/southland/residents-worried-over-loose-roofing
