Fire alarms did not sound when a blaze broke out at a block of flats as part of a “stay put” policy, officials say.

The blaze broke out at the Sun Alliance House on Bradshawgate in Bolton town centre on the afternoon of Saturday September 7.

Residents said they alerted each other about the fire using a Whatsapp group.

They have now said that they have been moved to a hotel on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester, apparently until next Tuesday, after being moved out on Saturday.

One resident , who did not hear an alarm, said: “I’ve had to check out of the hotel in the morning, bring all of my luggage with me to work in Bolton and then bring it back.”

She added: “We’ve had a lot of ongoing issues.”

The building had to be evacuated The building had to be evacuated (Image: Phil Taylor)

The Sun Alliance House residents were moved to a hotel first in Piccadilly Gardens and then on Great Ancoats Street in central Manchester, in many cases miles from their places of work.

Speaking from the scene on Saturday, many also expressed concerns that they did not hear fire alarms go off after the blaze broke out in the bin storage area.

But the Fire and Rescue Service have since said that this was intended as part of a “stay safe” policy.

A spokesperson said: “At 2pm on Saturday, September 7 six fire engines from Bolton Central, Bolton North, Farnworth, Bury and the aerial appliance from Manchester Central attended a fire in the bin storage of a residential block on Bradshawgate, Bolton.

“Firefighters used hose reels to extinguish the fire and were in attendance for four hours.

“The fire was contained to the bin storage area and did not impact on the residential sections.

“The fire detection and warning system worked as designed for a building operating a ‘stay safe’ policy, meaning the alarm was not raised to residents in the unaffected part of the building and automatic firefighting equipment operated as expected.

“Due to damage to the soil pipes caused by the fire and the isolation of electrics and water the building has been made unsuitable for living in with residents moved to temporary accommodation while this is repaired.”

The fire is believed to have started in the bins areaThe fire is believed to have started in the bins area (Image: Public)

Lambert Smith Hampton Residential, which manages the building, says that the policy was put in place by the fire and rescue service.

They also say they are working to get the building repaired and to get people moved back in.

An LSH spokesperson said: “Sun Alliance is a purpose-built accommodation of masonry construction and has a stay put policy in place as per the fire strategy set out by the Fire Department for the building.

“This means that residents that are not in an area directly impacted by a fire should stay inside their flats with doors and windows closed.

“Sun Alliance House has a communal fire alarm that detects fire, however there is deliberately no sounders or beacons within the communal area as this would counteract the purpose of a stay put policy and alarm tenants to evacuate the building.

“Tenants are meant to stay put in their flats until told otherwise by the fire department should they need to be evacuated safely.

“There is enough compartmentation throughout the building to ensure the safety of the tenants until the fire department arrive.

“This information is provided to the tenants regularly by using Fixflo, our job reporting system, by way of block notification, with the last notification sent out on July 15 2024, in line with the regulations.

“Each tenant has access to this system to be able to receive this information.

“The evacuation policy is carefully considered during the development of the site and is signed off within the fire strategy with the guidance of the fire department.

“The fire department are aware of the evacuation policy for the property and have confirmed that it is the correct strategy for the building.

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“There are regular meetings with the fire department to ensure that the fire strategy in place remains suitable, as well as regular fire risk assessments to ensure that all risks are captured and remediated swiftly.

“The compartmentation made up of fire stopping, fire doors and various intumescent strips and smoke seals within the property allows for enough resistance to keep the tenants safe while the fire department attend to tackle the fire, as well as smoke detection in the flats that will sound if there is smoke ingress.

“There are smoke extraction devices throughout the property to pull the smoke out of the building to further remove the risk to residents.

“The residents were safety evacuated from the building following the incident and placed into emergency accommodation and Lambert Smith Hampton Residential are working with the local authorities and the building owner to get the property repaired where necessary and resituate the tenants in their apartments as soon as possible and this remains our priority.”