There is “shock and panic” in a community in Bristol where hundreds of residents were told to leave a tower block after structural problems were discovered.
Around 400 people who live in Barton House in the Barton Hill area of the city were told to pack a bag of clothes and leave on Tuesday night.
Bristol City Council said surveys conducted on three of the 98 flats found there is a “risk to the structure of the block” in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact.
It told all tenants to leave immediately “as a precautionary measure” while more in-depth inspections are carried out.
Khalil Abdi, of Bristol Horn Youth Concern, said: “It is shock and panic, people finished work, picked up their children then they got the news from the media.
“The whole area is shocked, not only this building.
“I saw people having panic attacks, falling on the floor. It was very difficult for the residents and the community.
“The work the council need to do today is to provide information – how long are people going to be away from their homes? How long are they going to be in temporary accommodation? They need assurances.”
Mr Abdi said families with children or those who were vulnerable were put in hotels on Tuesday night, while single people were placed in City Hall.
He added that some families had chosen to stay in Barton House as they did not feel they had enough information to leave.
“People have been here for a long time,” he added.
“Some people have been here since they came to this country and are attached to this building.”
Resident Nur Sharif, 42, said his family of four had been placed in a single hotel room.
Mr Sharif said young babies had been among those evacuated last night and their mothers – some who had recently given birth by Caesarean section – were “struggling”.
“I am really, really upset,” Mr Sharif, a taxi driver said.
“I found out last night, I was working and my missus gave me a call.
“She said ‘you need to come quickly’. They said we had to move out quickly, we didn’t even have 24 hours.”
When asked if he and his family would return to their home permanently if allowed, he replied: “No. I spoke to residents and no one feels safe.
“Imagine someone tells you that you have to move out. How can we come back?”
One local resident, who gave her name as Lorraine, said she had been a child when the tower block was erected.
“I remember when it went up,” the 75-year-old said.
“It was supposed to be temporary. My sister was a baby when it started going up, she is 65 next week.”
Imagine someone tells you that you have to move out. How can we come back?— Nur Sharif, resident of Barton House
Ray Gregory, who lives in Barton House, described the evacuation on Tuesday as “total chaos”.
He said: “There was no forewarning, nothing.
“It is stressful. We need to know what’s happening. I haven’t had any information sent to me, all I know is what’s on the news.
“I don’t understand the urgency. It could have been done in a much better manner. It was total chaos yesterday, absolutely chaos – there were kids in pyjamas in the car park.
“I’m really disappointed. I want to know what’s happening. Have I got a home? Is it still going to be here? If it isn’t, where do I go?”
Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member for housing services and energy at Bristol City Council, said the emergency response was decided based on information provided by the structural engineer and fire brigade.
Mr Dudd said: “(The fire brigade) changed their operational notes to crews that would attend and given the way they changed their advice to crews that would potentially attend a fire (at Barton House) that told us everything and we had to make that decision to evacuate the building.”
He explained said the issue is due to concrete sections connected to the building’s supporting walls, which were built with dated design specifications.
“If the building was built to design, we wouldn’t have this problem so the issue was in the construction of the building and the job that was done at the time,” he said.
He claimed the building poses a risk only “in the event of a fire, a blast or a potential collision” but is otherwise “OK”.
“But given that we had five fires in high-rise blocks last year in terms of the level of risk that’s just unacceptable,” he said.
Mr Dudd said the council is currently carrying out surveys on Barton House and urged residents to vacate their homes while investigations are under way.
A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue said: “We have been liaising with Bristol City Council following a recent building survey conducted on Barton House.
“As a precautionary measure and to allow for further, more in-depth surveys, residents in the block are being asked to leave immediately.
“The approach the council are taking as responsible persons of the building is appropriate and proportional. We are in support of this to ensure that residents are kept safe.”
