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Residents of a Macquarie apartment building have been told they have to leave because of concerns over the safety of the structure and of a fire risk. People living in the Kelkiah Apartment building at 21 Wiseman Street were advised to leave their homes late on Tuesday. They are likely to be out of their homes until well into the New Year. The evacuation happened after engineers from the owners of the building and the ACT government were called in. There were undefined problems with the structure but then, according to the government, “ACT Fire and Rescue advised that vehicles are to be removed from the basement of the building as soon as possible to reduce any potential fire load in that area”. An ACT government spokesman said that on December 10 “the Owners Corporation for Kelkiah apartments advised Access Canberra of an engineering report that the corporation had commissioned which recommended that propping of the structural columns of the building’s basement should occur.” On Tuesday this week, officials from the ACT Government then met engineers appointed by the Owners Corporation. The government spokesperson said “at that time, there was no indication given to ACT government that the owners corporation would direct the evacuation of the building”. But the fire service then deemed the vehicles parked in the basement to be a fire risk. It’s not clear if the building has been emptied because of the fire risk alone or because of the original structural risk. A spokesman for the ACT Government said:
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Residents of a Macquarie apartment building have been told they have to leave because of concerns over the safety of the structure and of a fire risk.
People living in the Kelkiah Apartment building at 21 Wiseman Street were advised to leave their homes late on Tuesday.
They are likely to be out of their homes until well into the New Year.
The evacuation happened after engineers from the owners of the building and the ACT government were called in.
There were undefined problems with the structure but then, according to the government, “ACT Fire and Rescue advised that vehicles are to be removed from the basement of the building as soon as possible to reduce any potential fire load in that area”.
An ACT government spokesman said that on December 10 “the Owners Corporation for Kelkiah apartments advised Access Canberra of an engineering report that the corporation had commissioned which recommended that propping of the structural columns of the building’s basement should occur.”
On Tuesday this week, officials from the ACT Government then met engineers appointed by the Owners Corporation.
The government spokesperson said “at that time, there was no indication given to ACT government that the owners corporation would direct the evacuation of the building”.
But the fire service then deemed the vehicles parked in the basement to be a fire risk.
It’s not clear if the building has been emptied because of the fire risk alone or because of the original structural risk.
A spokesman for the ACT Government said:
- There has been no direction from ACT Government to evacuate the units within the building.
- The ACT Government understand that the Owners Corporation engineers will be seeking to have the basement area propped in January.
- ACT Government will continue to work with the Owners Corporation, however the building regulator is not able to undertake regulatory action as the period for doing so expired 10 years after the date the occupancy certificate was issued.
- The Kelkiah Owners Corporation are responsible for the ongoing safety of the building and its residents.
- The Owners Corporation is continuing to consult with experts to determine the next steps required to ensure the structural integrity of the building and the safety of residents.
- The ACT Government is working closely with Owners Corporation and is continuing to monitor the situation.
- ACT Fire and Rescue have been made aware of key issues in the report by Peak Consulting commissioned by the Owners Corporation and advice from a structural engineer.
