Town centre apartment block's elevators shut off stranding residents

The Paramount on Beckhampton Street houses over 700 people, including those who are disabled, elderly and pregnant, as well as those with other mobility issues.

These people have been left either stranded or having to use several flights of stairs after both elevators were unexpectedly closed.

It came after a fire alarm went off in the building at around 9pm on Saturday evening, with one of the building managers claiming the fire service’s response resulted in the two lifts being shut off.

The Paramount on Beckhampton Street was attended by fire crews on Saturday night. (Image: Newsquest)

Now three days later, the issue is yet to be resolved and one of the local Paramount directors, Sheyba Jani, has been left bemused.

“The fire brigade attended have all the keys to the caretaker’s office and they went in and turned off the alarm but in the process, they also turned off both elevators,” said Mrs Jani.

“I do not know if this is a regular thing for them to do but in the past they have always turned the lifts back on and make them operational again.”

The 67-year-old also highlighted the severity of the issue in the case of the affected residents.

Both elevators have been shut off since Saturday night. (Image: Newsquest)

“People have been standing downstairs in a state of panic and confusion as they have shopping, bicycles and push chairs so it is really not fair,” she said.

“We also have several disabled residents who cannot leave their apartments currently until the issue is resolved.”

Roger Clements was badly affected by the issue as he arrived at Paramount to deliver shopping for his granddaughter.

“We couldn’t get up in the lift and I had to stop when I got between the second and third floors and have a rest,” said the 78-year-old.

Several of the residents have mobility issues that mean they rely on the lifts to get in and out of the building. (Image: Newsquest)

The problem is still ongoing due to the relevant staff being currently off work.

“The lifts still have not been turned on and our caretaker does not work at the weekend so she only realised [Monday] morning that the lift had been disabled,” said Mrs Jani.

“With her key, she cannot turn the lifts back on so she called them and told them about the issue and they said that they would not come.

“The fire station is round the corner from the apartments so they could basically walk here but they instead suggested for us to contact our lift engineer.

The lift controls were switched off during the response to the fire alarm on Saturday night. (Image: Newsquest)

“It makes me feel really angry as the residents cannot use the lifts and are constantly phoning and leaving us complaints."

The 67-year-old has been a director at Paramount for over ten years but has never been this angry over previous issues.

“It is very frustrating and upsetting that the fire brigade has left it off with no consideration for us,” she said.

“With a building of this size with so many affected, it is difficult to understand why they refuse."

The building has several floors meaning several flights of stairs for residents to tackle while the lifts are switched off. (Image: Newsquest)

The Adver approached Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue for comment.

A spokesperson for the fire service said: “We were called to the Paramount in Beckhampton Street, Swindon at 8.57pm on Saturday as the fire alarm was sounding.

“Three crews attended, two from Stratton and one from Swindon. They established that it was a false alarm, the system had been triggered by cooking in one of the flats. Our stop was at 9.10pm.

“We did not disable the lifts, it’s likely that they are automatically disabled when the alarm system goes off to prevent people trying to use them in the event of a fire. As such, it’s an issue for the management company to resolve.”