Emergency services vehicles assembled less than an hour ago on Alexandra Road when the house at 51 discharged huge plumes of smoke and dust into the air. Building works are ongoing and scaffolding is outside the property, where a rear section of the roof has just collapsed. The floor and wall in the same area has also collapsed.
The police, ambulance and fire brigade were on the scene in only a few moments. Neighbouring residents described the sounds and vibrations of an earthquake, which temporarily disrupted. One resident, Bushra Mahmood described doing work by her computer while “walls started to violently shake” and “debris was being thrown towards the windows”. Within minutes, emergency services had sealed of the road checking damage to nearby properties. Concerned citizens congregated behind the striped tape while policemen came to interview witnesses. When PC Willis was asked about what had happened, he replied “no comment”. Firemen carefully assessed the property while wearing masks.
Later, five men covered in dust exited the building and were thankfully uninjured. They are still waiting to see whether their construction can continue at all, while residents are wondering if they will be evacuated.
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