Thursday, June 12, 2008

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Tree Failure on a local celebrity)

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear Station Members,

Tree Failures during rain storms these days would hardly make headlines in our territory anymore, since they are nearly as common as traffic accidents to an extent. However, the one below has damaged & nearly killed a local celebrity, & this one might possibly draw attention in local tabloids & gossips among housewives.

This incident may help bring better public awareness on regular Tree Inspection & careful Risk Management for our mature trees which we have many in our territory. After all, if our mature trees are not properly cared for by properly trained professionals, they would simply become Time Bombs in our city. In our opinion, Independent Arborists working impartially without Conflict of Interest with anybody should be involved with the job.

Therefore, enjoy the message below & maybe think of our mature trees at the same time when you are reading it.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees.
(www.isa-arbor.com)

塌樹壓座駕 楊千嬅嚇呆 (星島) 06月 12日 星期四 05:30AM

(星島日報報道)

歌影天后楊千嬅,昨凌晨返回赤柱住所途中遇險。當乘坐的七人車,在黃麻角道停下等候燈號時,不到五秒,路旁一棵二十呎高巨樹突然倒塌,將車壓個正,擋風玻璃爆裂,楊千嬅及司機一同被困,司機被玻璃碎片濺傷,警方趕至協助兩人由車尾爬出脫險。楊事後發出書面回應表示:「很害怕……媽咪話要還神……咁都平安無事真係好好彩!」
  
本報突發組

  曾參演電影《新師妹》、演活出生入死女警的楊千嬅,昨凌晨在現實生活中亦經歷死裏逃生一幕。驚魂甫定的楊千嬅,在書面回應中親自講述事發經過及感受,她慶幸自己得以逃過大難,全因當時坐在車尾:「停了下來不到五秒,我只廳到『轟』一聲巨響…….一些玻璃碎片擦傷了我的司機。我坐在後座,所以沒受傷。」
  
玻璃碎片濺傷司機

  她又說:「下車後回望自己的車,感覺十分震撼,比發生意外時更驚……棵樹大得幾乎壓住了大半架車……我當時沒打電話回家,我怕嚇親媽咪……我個司機受少少傷……他不肯去醫院……但我命令他一定要去……檢查一好。」
  綜合楊千嬅及警方提供資料,昨凌晨一時許,楊千嬅(三十四歲)與朋友吃飯聊天後,乘坐由姓林司機(五十五歲)駕駛的銀灰色七座位明星保母車,返回赤柱富豪海灣寓所,保母車沿黃麻角道行駛,至聖士提反灣對開,因該處進行路面工程,放有臨時交通燈,改為單行車,當時剛巧紅燈亮起,楊的保母車遂停下等候。
  詎料路旁圍網內一棵高約二十呎、樹幹直徑約兩呎、枝葉茂盛的大樹,突連根拔起塌向馬路,壓落保母車的車頂及車頭,大半車身被樹冠覆蓋,僅露出車尾,車頭擋風玻璃被樹枝擊中爆裂,玻璃碎片濺入車廂,司機首當其衝,被碎片割傷手部,兩人同被困,不敢冒險爬出車外,即致電報警。
  
警打開車尾門救人

  警員趕至打開車尾門,協助楊千嬅與司機爬出車外,楊飽受驚嚇,幸無受傷,司機則受輕傷,但拒絕送院,楊致電富豪海灣的管理處,派來一輛私家車接她回家,楊為免母親擔心,只輕描淡寫交代車被樹壓,故乘大廈的車回來。
  
說會遵慈母命還神

  警方通知有關部門人員將倒塌大樹鋸斷放回樹叢內,司機將保母車駛走,現場交通回復正常,經初步調查,懷疑近日天雨令泥土鬆軟,致大樹倒塌,壓毀楊千嬅的座駕。
  楊千嬅九五年加入娛樂圈,曾多次在拍戲及舉行演唱會時不慎跌傷,但從未經歷昨晨驚險一幕,她不諱言感到驚慌,但會遵從母命還神。向來孝順的她,在事發後擔心母親受驚,沒有即時告知母親,只致電屋苑管理處派車來接她,其母亦是昨晨才知此事。
  

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

ISA HK/China --- Independent Arborist vs. In-house Arborist

*** Our weekly Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas. Please note Station Mail is sometimes given in Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com , although images are usually not attached due to size. ***

Dear xxx,

Thank you for your phone call.

We are repeating our reply to you in an open Station Mail because your enquiry may serve as a good example for other Certified Arborists (CA) in our Station. On the other hand, we do carefully protect your identity with possible memory loss of the Station Manager during your phone conversation. It is also true that we can not tell who you genuinely are over a phone call anyway. Any person can always claim he is somebody over the phone.

Your enquiry reflects the Conflict of Interest in your work for your employer who would put you into a situation against your professional knowledge of a CA to act on company's behalf. This is always true anywhere in the world if the CA is working for somebody & the employer may not always understand why Arborist would make decision against common commercial interest. In an event as such, our advice to you would be not to put down your CA Certification Number in any formal reply to anybody, so that you would not be using your professional status to represent yourself in a response.

Please note that in any Arborist Report with a signature & CA Certification Number on it in our territory, it would be deemed to be legally binding & may have lawful consequence if anything would go foul afterwards. Both the victim(s) & ISA HK/China may be required to induce investigation when pursued, & disciplinary action may follow if findings would substantiate such necessity. Therefore, please use your credential with care.

In this open reply to you, ISA HK/China would also urge Contract Administrators to consider the employment of an Independent Arborist to act impartially in place of an In-house Arborist to avoid any Conflict of Interest of the latter, since the In-house Arborist would be under pressure to work for the employer's commercial interest. Forcing the In-house Arborist to go against his/her professionalism is not fair, & can lead him/her into mishaps.

Thank you for your enquiry & ISA HK/China hopes by openly addressing your concern, can also inform the Contract Administrators to take necessary actions to protect & develop this new profession for the benefit of our community.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

The ISA Mission - Through research, technology, and education, promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the benefits of trees. (www.isa-arbor.com)