Over 300 students at the University of Sheffield’s Derwent Accommodation were left with less than four hours notice to collect their belongings and move out due to a fire risk.
The major incident sparked after an alleged fire occurred in the boiler room on Sunday 20th January, which shorted the electricity. Residents were evacuated to The Edge, and have not been allowed to move back in since.
Hundreds of students were left to sleep on friend’s floors or were given emergency accommodation.
On Tuesday 22nd January, students were told they had until 5pm to collect all their belongings but weren’t told where to go. .
A politics and international relations student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “The emergency accommodation we were sent to was disgusting.”
“It was an old abandoned accommodation that hasn’t been lived in for years. The toilet was disgusting and the water didn’t seem clean to me.”
The electrical short was caused by the heavy rain, causing floods in the boiler room and leaving Derwent accommodation without any power, running water or working fire alarms.
Most students have now been moved into city accommodation, where they have been told that repairs can take at least a week to complete.
Alice Haldane, 18, a journalism student said: “There are lots of people walking around with pillows. Derwent is in the mud.”
The University of Sheffield said: “We understand how disruptive the last couple of days have been and would like to thank our students for their patience and cooperation. We are doing everything we can to make the transition to temporary alternative accommodation as smooth as possible.”
Image credit: Geograph
