A recent accident in Newburgh, where a schoolboy was injured when a retaining wall collapsed, might well be the ”tip of the iceberg” should Fife experience another winter as severe as last year.
That is the stark warning from local stonemason George Sweeney, who predicts similar incidents are likely to be repeated unless the owners of buildings and other structures start taking urgent action.
As we reported (link), six-year-old Darren Brown had his leg crushed by a falling rock at the weekend when the wall near his home on Whitecraig Road gave way.
Thankfully, he is expected to recover from his ordeal but Mr Sweeney fears someone could end up being more seriously hurt or even killed if a prolonged cold snap hits again this winter.
”Fife Council are to be praised for launching an urgent investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident, which appears to have involved a retaining wall, but everyone who owns a building or a wall should also take notice of their own responsibilities,” said Mr Sweeney.
”Every day people are playing in parks, walking the streets and sheltering beside buildings without realising the potential perils poised high above their heads. But I am very much afraid that any heavy frosts or snowfalls this winter may not just make conditions treacherous underfoot but it might also only be a question of time before a major disaster falls upon Fifers when they least expect it.
”We work on buildings in all sorts of disrepair and in many cases huge chunks of stone literally come away in our hands. In graphic terms, all that could be needed is a heavy frost or fall of snow and the possibility of serious injury or death might, quite literally, come pouring down on to the heads of the children playing, or adults walking, below.”’Real risk’Last year’s wintry weather is likely to have made things much worse, and a repeat in the coming months will see a rapid deterioration and increase in the present dangers.
”If I take a walk round any of the towns in Fife or anywhere else across Tayside and beyond, in the space of even just a few hundred yards I will identify at least half a dozen potentially problematic places, some of which are posing a real risk of falling down at any time,” Mr Sweeney continued.
”In the worst cases, the cement rendering on a chimney will have separated from the brickwork and this, combined with loose masonry, could come crashing down at any moment.”
Mr Sweeney said the principal problems are caused mostly by water ingress over a period of time but believes the addition in winter of the weight of snow and the pressure arising from swollen ice could make things worse.
”I would seriously urge property owners to carry out vital checks to ensure the safety of their buildings. Everywhere I look I spot something dangerous.
”What springs instantly to mind, for example, are derelict buildings where gutterings are filled with debris, windows are bulging with broken glass and weeds and other plants are forcing large areas of the frontage apart, all of which is poised to come cascading down.
”This can only become worse if we have bad weather. Every time I am out shopping with my own family, I cannot help but look up at the chimney stacks, gables, roofs and rones and I am always able to see something that requires attention.”
The dangers of falling masonry were thrown into sharp focus a few years ago when Australian waitress Christine Foster was killed as she worked at a pavement cafe in Edinburgh, while pedestrians also had a lucky escape when rubble fell from a shop on Princes Street.