City office workers flee blaze

Jan 14 2008

AN office worker told today of the scary moment smoke suddenly billowed onto his floor at a Birmingham building thought to have been targeted by arsonists.

David Beckett was working late in the Birmingham Tribunal Unit when the fire broke out on the floor below, at Albany House, in Hurst Street.

He was one of more than 100 people evacuated from the ten-storey building after rubbish was set alight in an empty office on the eighth floor, on Friday.

While they waited beside the building, next door to the Hippodrome Theatre, heat from the fire caused the windows to smash and send glass shooting down onto the street.

The 45-year-old, from Leamington Spa, said: "As I was trying to switch off the computer the alarm went off and in the 30 seconds it took me to get across the room smoke was billowing from the fire exit into the floor.

"I put a scarf across my mouth to stop the smoke from getting on my chest. It was quite scary for a moment."

Six fire crews were called to tackle the blaze at 5.50pm. A spokesman said 146 people were evacuated from the building before fire crews arrived.