False 'evacuate' alarm disturbs Brandywell residents

The stadium is owned by Derry City and Strabane District Council

The owners of a football stadium in Londonderry have apologised after a late night faulty fire alarm kept local residents awake.

People living close to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, which is home to Derry City FC, have said they are growing increasingly frustrated with false alarms sounding at the ground.

On Monday night, the system was triggered shortly after 23:00 GMT.

Local people told BBC News NI that the alarm sounded for several hours.

Derry City and Strabane District Council, who own the ground on the Lone Moor Road, said it was sorry for the impact on those living nearby.

Majella McClelland said it's not the first time the alarm has gone off unexpectedly

“We apologise for the disturbance and want to assure that public that every effort is being made to ensure it does not happen again," a council spokesperson has said.

Majella McClelland lives in Southend Park, a street that backs directly onto the ground.

Ms McClelland said the alarm has gone off at least three times in the last year.

“Last night it started after 11pm," she told BBC News NI.

"It just blasts out and it’s not a low voice: ‘Evacuate, Evacuate!' over and over again, non-stop for four hours,” she said.

The alarm calls for people's attention before notifying them that a fire has been detected in the area and then ends with a repeated klaxon sound.

Derry City FC play their home games at the ground

False alarms are an ongoing and worrying issue, Ms McClelland said.

They have sparked growing frustration for those who live in the stadium’s shadow, she said.

“It doesn’t matter where in the street you live, there are people here with kids, people with young babies, people here who have to get up for work," she said.

"This needs to be sorted, its going on too long now."

'It's an absolute disgrace'

Oonagh Melly lives on the other side of the Brandywell Stadium.

"It's an absolute disgrace, it happens quite regularly," she said.

"It's every couple of months and last night was the longest, it went on so long,” she told BBC News NI.

The alarm will often go off during daylight hours, she said, but added that it seemed to be so much worse “in the still of the night”.

“It is an absolute disgrace, there will be a lot of tired children around the Brandywell area this morning,” she said.

The Derry and Strabane council spokesperson said an alarm company was on site on Tuesday “to identify the issue”.

'Considerable anger'

At a council meeting on Tuesday evening, independent councillor Gary Donnelly called on the local authority to explain what caused Monday night’s incident.

He said it had caused sleep deprivation for residents of the city’s Brandywell area and parts of the Bogside, and was also heard in parts of Creggan, resulting in "considerable anger".

“I think that council owes people an explanation… and a reassurance that council will do everything possible to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” he added.

A solicitor for the council said that the local authority is trying to establish “the cause of the issue, and whether it’s in any way connected with the works which are currently happening at the Brandywell”.

He said that once the problem is identified, the information will be shared with residents and steps will be taken to ensure it does not happen again.