Sections of a city centre residential building have been served with a prohibition notice due to concerns over fire safety.
The prohibition notice was served on the property management company of the Rialto building on Melbourne Street near Northumbria University's City campus on Tuesday June 27 by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. This has led to a number of residents at the building being asked to temporarily leave the premises until remedial work can be carried out by those responsible for the building to address concerns raised with the fire service.
A notice posted on the building by TWFRS stated: "There is insufficient fire resisting separation between individual residential flats on all levels and other residential flats within the property. Any fire in a residential flat will result in heat and/or smoke filling the escape route and prevent people from making a safe escape from the premises.
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"The premises must not be used for residential purposes."
It was also deemed that the car park should not be used, due to "hazards within the car park e.g. vehicles place additional risk to residents that reside in the premises".
At present, it is not yet clear how many residents are affected by the works or where they have been temporarily re-homed.
A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "This week we were made aware of fire safety concerns at the Rialto Building on Melbourne Street, Newcastle, by the management company responsible for the premises. Following intensive and detailed consideration by our fire safety experts, we have taken the decision to issue prohibition notices covering parts of the building.
"This was due to immediate concerns around the safety of residents, in the event of a fire at the building, and in light of new information that was brought to our attention. This means residents at the property will be required to leave the premises until the company responsible for the buildings can undertake mitigating actions to resolve the issues identified.
"It is the responsibility of the responsible person of the building to ensure compliance with legislation and we will offer support with remedial work they need to carry out to ultimately allow affected residents to return to their homes. We understand this will cause upheaval for those residents.
"We only take this approach when all alternative options have been exhausted. However, the safety of residents will always be our paramount concern."
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: "Safety of residents is our top priority and we are supporting the fire service following their decision to issue this notice. We understand this decision has not been taken lightly but safety is the paramount concern.
"We will be working with the building management to ensure suitable accommodation is available to those who require it. We hope remedial works can be resolved as quickly as possible so residents can return to their homes."
