South Tyneside Council wants to demolish an arson-plagued ex-shipyard branded a "death trap" by locals.
A fire which broke out in the former Hawthorn Leslie shipyard, on Ellison Street in Hebburn, on Wednesday night, is now being treated as arson by police.
It was the latest in a series of blazes at the derelict site.
Residents were told to stay inside or away from the area, due to a potential risk of arson in the site.
The fire sparked for the building, said to be a magnet for arson and anti-social behaviour, to be pulled down.
Waiting anxiously outside the police cordon, mum-of-two Yvonne Garrett told ChronicleLive: "There are fires there all the time.
"Why they don’t just knock it down I don’t know. It’s an eyesore and a death trap."
Council officials fought to have the building's listed status removed in 2014, to pave the way for it to be demolished. But in the five years since, no further work has been done on the site.
The shipyard closed in the 1980s, and was sold to Cammell Laird then acquired by A&P Group in 2001.
Lancashire-based property development firm MMC Development Limited, which owned the building, previously claimed a planning application was being worked on, but in 2017 the company called in administrators.
It had been advertised for sale by estate agents GVA (now part of Canada-based Avison Young) but the firm says it has not been involved with the property for around six months now.
On Thursday Council spokesman said: "We are seeking to have the building demolished as a matter of urgency and we have advised the owners of this.
"We are examining our legal options should the owner not be forthcoming as to a timescale to demolish this building."
