‘No significant issues’: Tree deemed safe by Merri-bek council falls on family living room

A large tree has fallen onto the roof family home in Coburg, above where a mother and her children were sitting, after the family was assured by the council it was safe.

A large tree has fallen onto the roof family home in Coburg, above where a mother and her children were sitting, after the family was assured by the council it was safe.

Real estate agent Kamal Kanaan‘s wife was in the bedroom with her one-month-old infant and one-year-old toddler when the tree smashed into the roof.

“My wife called me crying hysterically – she was sitting on the bed when she heard the loud bang. She thought it was an earthquake at first,” he said.

Mr Kanaan was reassured that the tree would “never fall”. Picture: Himangi Singh

Mr Kanaan said the tree had been an issue since the young family bought the house in 2021.

“During renovations we noticed the tree wasn’t stable and we kept telling the council, there are numerous reports, but they said ‘no it’s fine’,” he said.

“(In November) another tree fell down some streets down and my wife was very nervous so I called council again and they sent an arborist who said to my wife that the tree will never fall and is structurally sound.”

Mr Kanaan claimed the arborist also told his wife there were “more chances of dying from any other natural causes than from the tree falling anyway”.

The 27-year-old father said he was grateful he was “only frustrated and not mourning”.

“Just to think my one-year-old, one-month-old and wife were in that room is terrifying,” he said.

The tree landed on Mr Kanaan’s fence and roof. Picture: Facebook

Mr Kanaan said it felt like Merri-bek council had “gaslit” the family and it needed to do more to keep the community safe.

“If anyone else has a tree and are concerned about it, the council should address it more promptly because this could have been much worse than what it is for me now,” he said.

“In hindsight, I’m happy no one’s hurt. It’s frustrating because we just finished renovating the house.

“I’ll be going after the council. They didn’t listen. If they’re not listening to me, I can only imagine other people that can’t fight for themselves.”

Crews worked to remove the tree on Monday. Picture: Facebook

A copy of an arborists report on Merri-bek council letterhead was pinned to the tree on Monday afternoon.

On it noted it had been inspected on September 11 last year and the council recommended it did “not meet the council intervention guidelines for pruning or removal”.

“No significant structural issues observed at time of inspection,” the comments said.

The tree was inspected on November 9, 2023. Picture: Supplied.

The council recommended it did “not meet the council intervention guidelines for pruning or removal”. Picture: Supplied.

The notice outlined the reasons the council would remove a tree, which included if it was diseased or dying, if it was a safety hazard to the public, or if it had been planted by a resident against council guidelines.

However, a “perceived danger” of the tree falling was not enough to get it removed or pruned, the notice stated.

A Merri-Bek council spokeswoman said a council crew was sent to secure the site and clear the tree on Monday afternoon.

“The tree was inspected following a request in September last year,” she said.

“The tree displayed no significant signs of health or structural issues which would have required its removal.

“Council has a proactive inspection and maintenance program which applies to all street trees that is performed by arborists.

“If a customer is concerned about a tree, they can contact council via any of our normal channels and request an arborist inspection.”

The tree, which fell on a power line, is believed to have caused a small outage in the Coburg area.

According to the Jemena Energy website, an unplanned outage was recorded in Pascoe Vale about 1.23pm.

Power was estimated to be restored by 5.23pm.