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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Ethan Davies

Beeping alarm 'nightmare' plagues city centre residents for more than a YEAR

Residents in a plush city centre apartment block say they've been plagued by a beeping fire alarm for more than a year.

Liv Woodward, who lives next to the fire alarm panel in her flat in Albion Works, in New Islington, said it's been a 'nightmare'.

The 31-year-old said she's been hit by the alarm 'farce' since she moved into her apartment in July 2021. Liv — and her flatmate, who’s asked to not be named — both say their mental health has been affected.

RMG, the property managers for Albion Works, told the Manchester Evening News that the issue will be fixed ‘within the next week’.

READ MORE: Man stabbed at busy tram stop in Manchester city centre

However, the past 18-months-or-so have been ‘crazy’, Liv said. “It’s got to the point where we have not been able to sleep,” she explained. “I could not function at work because I was that tired. I told them that and it stopped for three months — then it started again.

“They came out and did something to it and it was quiet from around July to September last year.”

Liv added that in trying to solve the issues themselves, the problem can actually worsen. “The alarm is constantly going off. We cannot turn it off, but we can mute it,” she added.

“Sometimes if you try and mute it and press the wrong button, it sets off the whole fire alarm and three fire engines turn up. It’s crazy — I cannot believe it’s been going on this long.”

Her flatmate, who has asked to stay anonymous, moved in June 2022. She said: “It will wake you up several times in the night. You can mute it, but it will come back on. It could be a few hours between beeps, or just one hour. It could go on until 2am and then at 3am but not until 6am.”

After the MEN raised the issue with RMG, which manages but does not own the building, the company said that work to fix the issue will be completed ‘within the next week’. A spokesperson also apologised for ‘inconvenience’ the issue’s caused.

“We are aware of the issue that you have highlighted,” an RMG statement said. “Firstly, we can confirm that the alarm is regularly maintained and will operate as normal in the event of an emergency.

“We are aware that at times an alarm sensor by a small number of apartments does intermittently bleep and this can be heard inside their homes. A contractor has ordered the parts required to resolve the matter and we expect it to be rectified within the next week.

“We have updated residents of this and speak with the Residents Committee on a weekly basis regards this and all management issues. The safety and wellbeing of the residents is our priority and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”

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