Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue continues safety work at luxury flats in Lincoln

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue says it’s continuing safety work on a block of luxury flats that has presented serious fire safety concerns.

Residents were urged to leave One the Brayford, on Lincoln’s Brayford Wharf North, after serious problems were uncovered a month ago.

A fire prohibition notice claims the building has an insufficient fire alarm system and combustible external walls, and a fire would likely spread too quickly for residents to escape.

No date has been given for when residents will be able to return to their homes.

Dan Moss, area manager at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “We are continuing to work hard to make sure that residents can return to their flats as quickly as possible and are actively engaging with the responsible persons to supply relevant information to help achieve this.

“Our primary concern remains with the safety of the occupants, and the prohibition notice is still in place.”

The Building Safety Regulator, which is responsible for high-rise buildings, will coordinate with the owners to ensure their safety.

A total of 51 residents were strongly encouraged to leave, with the fire service saying it was too risky to remain.

City of Lincoln Council confirmed this week that it is now providing emergency housing for 29 people across 15 households.

The block of 89 flats opened as part of a £15 million project in 2019, which also created ground-floor retail and restaurant space.

The notice outlines three main areas of fire safety risk:

“Insufficient fire resisting separation between the sleeping accommodation and the means of escape. This will allow heat and smoke from a fire to pass from the area of the fire to all floors.”

“Insufficient means of detecting a fire and giving adequate warning to occupants, meaning they would be unaware of a fire. The occupants would be likely overcome by the effects of heat/smoke before they could make their escape.”

“External wall systems are combustible and will allow any fire to spread rapidly on the external faces, with the potential for the fire to re-enter the building and spread internally.”

A spokesperson for RMG, which manages the building, said: “The focus now is to establish what work must be completed to enable residents to return to their homes. The safety of the residents is our number one priority, and we will continue to support them through this difficult period.”