A residential block of flats in Teesside has been evacuated to allow fire safety work to be immediately carried out.
On 5 September, the residents of Dawson House, a fifteen-storey high-rise building in Billingham, were told they would need to leave their homes after a fire safety inspection “raised concerns about the building's safety in the event of an emergency”.
Specifically, Thirteen Housing Group said that a planned check of the building revealed that there may be an issue with “safely extract[ing] all of the smoke from the emergency exits in the event of a fire”.
In a statement released on 6 September 2024, Thirteen Housing Group said it had “made the difficult decision to evacuate” and thanked the residents of Dawson House for their cooperation and understanding while they carried out “essential work” in the building.
Dawson House was evacuated “immediately”, with one resident telling Teesside Live: “They’ve told us we’ve got to evacuate. They’re putting us in hotels because they said there’s some safety work to be carried out on the lifts.”
“At Thirteen, we take our responsibility to provide safe, high-quality homes for each and every one of our customers extremely seriously. We will never knowingly allow our customers to live in a property where there is any risk of this kind, however small, and so, we’ve taken the decision to evacuate customers, as a precaution, while we carry out work, initially over the next few days, to ensure we address the risks that have been identified.
“We’re supporting our customers throughout this time, providing comfortable accommodation, and we’ve set up dedicated support lines, should they need to speak to a member of the team at any time.
“We understand this is disruptive, but it is absolutely necessary, and we are extremely grateful to our customers for their patience during this time,” the housing association stated.
Residents were told the evacuation measures would be for two to three days while the work was being carried out. As reported by BBC News, 87 households were vacated. The housing association added that it was coordinating “closely” with local authorities and emergency services to support residents, and alternative accommodation had been arranged at nearby hotels.
Chief executive of Thirteen, Matt Forest said: "safety is our absolute priority, and we will continue to provide regular updates and support throughout this process."