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Resident felt 'left in the dark' after fire

Harry Stevens
BBC News, Nottingham
BBC An image of the burnt out building with its roof gone and scorch marks clearly visible. It is surrounded by fencing and police tapeBBC
The building in Beauvale Road in the Meadows suffered fire damage on Saturday night.

A man whose home was evacuated after a commercial building was destroyed in a fire says he felt "left in the dark" as he waited to return home.

Several houses in Beauvale Road, in the Meadows area of Nottingham, were deemed unsafe after the fire at about 20:00 BST on Saturday.

Ricky Thor, who lives next to the building, has been able to move back home three days after the incident but says he was "annoyed at the lack of communication" and added a phone number he was given for emergency accommodation did not ring through.

Nottingham City Council says phone lines for accommodation may have been busy when people were trying to ring due to high demand.

A burnt building with soot marks around the windows
Residents say the building in Beauvale Road in Nottingham was a former lace factory

Mr Thor said: "I feel a bit annoyed that everything took so long and the lack of communication".

"We were just left in the dark the whole time.

"It's not hard to communicate and tell us what's going on, only three houses were evacuated."

A number of roads were shut as 10 crews were called to the blaze at the old commercial premises.

The building was severely damaged but no injuries had been reported, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

"The flames were probably about four metres above the building. I was watching from a distance and I thought it was my house [on fire]," Mr Thor added.

Debris is visible next to a burnt-out building, with fencing stopping people coming near the structure
Debris spilled out on to the road after the fire

Following the fire, other residents had voiced their frustration over communication, particularly those who were unable to contact the phone number given to them for Nottingham City Council's housing aid service.

Robert Gorgos, 31, who has lived opposite the building for the last four years, said he remained in his home as he had nowhere else to go, despite being told it was not safe.

Speaking following the fire, he said: "Nobody [is] helping me. They said to call the number on our door for housing but we've heard nothing."

A burnt out building is pictured with scorched wooden frames visible
The commercial unit was severely damaged in the incident on Saturday

Nottingham City Council said it was providing support to a number of households, and phone lines may have been busy when people were trying to ring through due to high demand.

A spokesperson said people still in need of support should call 0115 8763300 or email [email protected]

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