Apartment block evacuated over fire risk concerns

Firefighters have told residents of an apartment block to leave their homes immediately due to concerns over the sprinkler system.

Prohibition notices were posted on the Riverside House building on Mowbray Street in Sheffield by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFRS) and occupants were only briefly allowed inside to collect possessions before the evacuation.

Inspectors said the flats were a fire safety risk because the sprinklers were not working.

The apartments are managed by Barnsdales, which said it was "committed to resolving the situation" - but residents told the BBC they were struggling to find hotel rooms with the compensation money provided.

SYFRS said the prohibition notice forbade anyone from sleeping in the flats due to "inadequate means of escape".

A spokesperson said: "It will remain in force until the matters are remedied and the notice is withdrawn. Fire safety officers will continue to work with the business to support them in resolving the above issue, and to enable the notice to be lifted."

One resident, Peter Jones, said Barnsdales had only offered him £60 per night to cover alternative accommodation and meals.

He said: "We arrived home to see a notice on the door saying we could not sleep in the building under any circumstances and if anyone were to breach that, there was a risk of an unlimited fine and up to two years imprisonment.

"The building needed to be immediately evacuated and we were essentially made homeless at the stroke of a pen."

Jones, who is a leaseholder of his apartment, is staying with his parents in Nottingham but said he is losing money by not being able to get to his job in Sheffield.

"There are five flats upstairs with one entrance and exit so getting access to those top floors if there were a fire in the corridor area would be extremely difficult, so I do understand the fire brigade's decision, but we've been caught on the back foot.

"The management company should have some form of insurance to at least put us up in temporary accommodation. Residents are being buffeted around without any clear resolution."

City ward councillor Douglas Johnson said the council's homeless service had to step in to help one resident find accommodation.

"This was a very serious step taken by the fire brigade and it is having a real impact on residents. The management company should be offering proper compensation."

A spokesperson for Barnsdales said: "Barnsdales are working closely with all stakeholders, including South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, fire safety experts, and specialist mechanical engineers to address the prohibition notice and all concerns raised.

"We continue to communicate with all tenants and are 100% committed to bringing the situation to satisfactory closure for all involved.

"A strategy to mitigate the risk to life has been proposed to South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for review and we await their decision."

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