Rock City fire closes Talbot Street after morning evacuation

Rock City in Nottingham was evacuated on Thursday morning, May 28, after a small fire brought emergency crews to the venue and closed Talbot Street. Police sealed off a large section of the city centre road while fire crews worked at the building.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service received the call at 8.41am, and Nottingham City Transport said by 9.01am that its buses were diverting because of the incident. By about 9.30am, two fire engines were at the scene, an aerial ladder had been raised to the building on the junction of Stanley Place, and at least four ambulances and at least seven police vehicles were in attendance.

George Akins at Rock City

George Akins, the owner of Rock City, said everyone inside had been evacuated and the fire was out. He also said: "No one is inside, everyone has been evacuated - we will wait to make sure we are all safe before we open tonight".

Akins added: "Everything is fine, I’m sure it’s all fine. It’s nothing major, and compliments to the fire brigade." He said the venue would wait to make sure everyone was safe before opening later that day.

Talbot Street and the cordon

A cordon was set up at the junction of Clarendon Street and Talbot Street near Rock City, and the fire service asked people to avoid the area while it carried out its work. Crews from Stockhill, London Road, Highfields, Arnold and Eastwood fire stations were at the scene.

The fire was suspected to have started in the roof space of the building. For people using the city centre, the immediate change was simple: Talbot Street was closed, buses were diverted and access around the junction was restricted while crews dealt with the blaze.