Residents' safety fears after return to tower block

Yousif Ahmed, who lives on the 12th floor with his wife and three children, says he worries about getting his family out of the building in the event of a collapse

Hundreds of residents who were evacuated from Bristol's oldest tower block over safety concerns say they have mixed feelings about finally being home.

More than 250 adults and children were forced to leave Barton House when Bristol City Council declared a major incident on 14 November.

Some residents say they still feel sceptical about the building's safety - Yousif Ahmed, 36, lives in the tower block with his wife and three young children and says he worries daily about needing an escape plan for his family in the event the building was to collapse.

Building survey reports from Ridge and Partners LLP and Arup say the building is safe for residents to return to, together with assurance from Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

Bristol City Council says nearly all residents have returned to the building, except one.

Detailed survey reports confirmed in February the central fire alarm system and fireproof padding followed safety specifications.

Residents have been assured Barton House is safe to return to

In November, Bristol City Council said building surveys had shown three flats out of 98 in Barton House were structurally compromised.

It said concrete had not been attached properly when the tower was built in 1958, and that the block was not constructed according to design plans.

This meant the tower block would be unsafe in the event of a fire or explosion, which prompted the "precautionary" evacuation.

Wilfred Stewart says he goes into the building "on and off"

Another worried resident, Wilfred Stewart, says he constantly assesses the danger and lies awake in fear.

'Trauma'

"The trauma that they put us through to leave, no-one would really want to come back," he said.

"I'm terrified to stay in this building because they tell you it's coming down, so there's no way you can tell me now, after you fix a few rooms, that it's safe.

"It makes no sense coming here to sleep, I'm not going to sleep.

"I'm up like security, watching and listening. If you hear a sound, you're up. The other day an alarm was going off in one of the flats and everybody was on the balcony."

Other residents say they sway between feelings of comfort and familiarity, and an unshakeable sense of dread.

"It's much better than when we were in a hotel," Mr Ahmed continued.

"It's easier to do your normal things, like shopping, going to school, going to work and coming back.

"But we still don't feel fully safe. There's a lot of questioning going on in my mind.

"We still think about if anything happened, it's really hard to escape, especially when you have kids or a big family. But because we have nowhere to go, it's better to come back."

Community support

Deniece Dixon runs a community hub nearby on Avonvale Road, called Cafe Conscious.

Formerly a Jamaican restaurant, the cafe opened its doors on the night Barton House was evacuated, providing a warm and safe space for families with nowhere else to go.

Deniece Dixon says she now shares "a connection with Barton House"

"We hit the ground running, there was no time to think," Ms Dixon said.

"It was just open up, food, and support. There wasn't any thinking, it was just doing."

Since then, Ms Dixon says she has poured thousands of pounds of her own money into helping those affected by the Barton House evacuation, providing food, clothes, school uniforms, pillows, blankets, cots, and more.

"I still haven't processed what happened that day," she said.

"I can only share that feeling with the families that were here.

"We have this connection, I can't explain it, but it's deeper than it's ever been."