Community Corner

Crews Remove Fallen Tree From County Street Home [VIDEO]

A section of County Street in Attleboro was blocked so crews could do an emergency takedown.

The closed off a section of County Street in Attleboro so that crews from Dunlap Inc., Cryan Landscaping and Harney Contractors could cut and remove a White Ash (American Biltmore) tree that was blown on to a County Street home during Tropical Storm Irene. 

Police blocked off access to County Street between First and Second Streets for more than two hours and set up detours. 

No one was living in the home, which is located between and , when the large tree crashed into the right side of the multi-family home's roof. In fact, the home was recently foreclosed.

Find out what's happening in Attleborowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"This was the worst one," Attleboro Building Commissioner Doug Semple said of the 19 homes that suffered damage from a downed tree. 

Thehad to declare an emergency take-down because it was a hazard and unsafe, according to Semple. The City reached out to Jim Weber of Field Assets, the contact person for the house. 

Find out what's happening in Attleborowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cost to the city will be "zero," according to Semple. "The tree was not on city property, it was on private property" he said. "When it fell the root ball kicked out the sidewalk."

"We gave them an option to have a municipal lien placed on the house or to be billed directly," Semple added. "He wanted to be billed directly, so we'll be sending him the bill."

Semple could not provide an estimate of what it will cost Weber to remove the tree. 

The building can not be occupied until the gaping hole left in the house by the downed tree is fixed. The roof will need to be repaired soon to avoid any further damage to the dwelling from the rain, according to Semple


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