'Weeks' of work for Nelson team

Checking the safety of chimneys on houses in Christchurch is keeping a team of Nelson volunteers busy.

Nelson Tasman Civil Defence response team leader Barry Rowe said yesterday's 5.1 aftershock meant some chimneys that survived the big earthquake on Saturday morning were now considered unsafe.

As so many houses in Christchurch had chimneys, the scale of the work was enormous, he said.

"Our guys in the field reported they are going out and going through the whole street and every house is affected. Some of them are just coming back and saying there is weeks and weeks of work."

Mr Rowe said yesterday was the first day for the volunteers and they had worked from 6am until about 10.30pm.

The homeowners they were dealing with were very grateful of their services. A decision would be made soon on how long the team would stay in Christchurch, he said.

Meanwhile, Nelson City Council's building manager Tracy Quindon-Boundy said one third of the council's building team were in Christchurch helping out.

Yesterday, she had spent the day checking the structures of homes in Kaiapoi.

Ms Quinton-Boundy said the council team would be back in Nelson this weekend. There would be a debriefing on Monday morning to decide who would go back.

A building inspector from the Tasman District Council is also in Christchurch.

Three volunteer fire brigades from the Nelson region are on standby to help relief efforts.

Nelson Marlborough Medical Officer of Health Ed Kiddle is also in Christchurch working with the Canterbury Public Health Service to assist in disease control.

- © Fairfax NZ News