Residents react as Dawson House in Billingham evacuated

Safety concerns prompted the evacuation of Dawson House in Billingham last night (September 5) - forcing residents to be moved to local hotels.

A routine check found that smoke would not have been able to be effectively extracted from the building in case of a fire, posing a risk.

Residents of Dawson House in Billingham. (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

Pictures show staff and residents at the entrance of the block being moved out of the building which will now undergo work. 

Jason Allison lives on the ground floor. He is one resident who was evacuated late last night and saw the commotion when he arrived back home.

He said: "I came home about half an hour ago and there were 13 staff who told us that we have to evacuate.

"They are putting us in hotels because they said there is some safety work to be carried out."

The entrance of Dawson House in Billingham. (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

When asked how long it would take, Jason claimed they were told it could be a "couple of weeks". 

The Northern Echo understands that residents have been placed in a hotel in Middlesbrough.

Thirteen’s chief executive Matt Forrest said: “At Thirteen, we take our responsibility to provide safe, high-quality homes for each and every one of our customers extremely seriously.

“Following planned checks, undertaken as we prepare for future investment at Dawson House, we were alerted to the risk that we may not be able to safely extract all of the smoke from the emergency exits from the building, in the event of a fire.

Dawson House in Billingham. (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

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“We will never knowingly allow our customers to live in a property where there is any risk of this kind, however small, and so, we’ve taken the difficult decision to evacuate all of our customers living in Dawson House, as a precaution, while we carry out work, initially over the next few days, to ensure we address the risks that have been identified.

“We’re supporting our customers throughout this time, providing comfortable accommodation, and we’ve set up dedicated support lines, should they need to speak to a member of the team at any time.

“We understand this is disruptive, but it is absolutely necessary, and we are extremely grateful to our customers for their patience during this time.”