Mascot residents evacuated after 'identifiable movements in the basement area'
Residents of a building in the inner-Sydney suburb of Mascot have been evacuated because of "identifiable movements in the basement area", Fire and Rescue NSW said.
Mascot Tower’s structural issues show there are “signs of a problem” and engineers have deemed it necessary to evacuate about 96 units, its spokesman said. There are no signs of any “immidiate structural failures”, they said.
Police have cordoned off the area. Multiple fire trucks have been parked outside the building for several hours.
Rose Hirst, 30, was returning from work when she found out she’d have to evacuate by 9pm. She called her husband and told him to "bring stuff and hurry".
"I’m worried because I’m pregnant," she said.
Ms Hirst has lived in the building for a year but said she’s not sure where they will spend the night.
A letter sent to the 1-5 Bourke Street residents from the Building Manager, and obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald, outlined safety concerns raised by the building's engineer following an inspection of the "cracking in the transfer slab beams supporting the primary building corner".
"It has been determined that there will be a partial evacuation of the building, pending further monitoring of the transfer beams over the course of thenext week. This will determine if the building is safe for reoccupation," the letter stated.
It also went on to say that units "need to be evacuated by 9pm tonight (14th June 2019)".
Residents say they received the letter at various times throughout the night, with one woman finding out about the evacuation when her neighbour knocked on her door and showed her the note.
Marek Makowski, who lives in the building with his wife, said “you can see [the cracks] when you walk in”.
The 57-year-old said there have been issues with the buildings for a “couple of years”.
Mr Makowski said they have received mixed messages about whether they can spend the night at home, but for now, like many, they’re looking for somewhere else to go.
Violeta Adriaan, 35, with her belongings in tow, said she’s annoyed she had to evacuate, and is feeling “pretty crap and upset”. She’s spending the night with friends.
There is speculation that construction nearby may have "dislodged" the Mascot block.
Thirty-seven units at the 1-5 Bourke Street address have been deemed "under no threat".
On Christmas Eve in 2018 thousands of residents were evacuated from the newly-built Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park after gaping cracks found in the building sparked fears it would collapse.
Fall-out from the damaged tower underscored concerns about new apartment buildings scattered across Sydney.
A final report by the engineering experts engaged by the NSW government identified a series of structural design and construction failings that breached national building standards and caused the cracking.