Norwich City Hall evacuated after fire
Emergency services were called to St Peters Street just before 8am this morning.
Norwich city hall was evacuated after a fire this morning (15 October).
Fresh details have emerged about what caused a fire at City Hall that led to the building being evacuated.
Fire crews were called to the Art Deco building in Norwich shortly before 8am and hundreds of staff members were forced to leave their desks while firefighters investigated.
It has since been revealed that the blaze started in the clock tower and was caused by a burnt-out electrical motor.
A spokeswoman for Norwich City Council said the damage was limited to this component and that the structure, built in 1938, remains safe.
“We’re grateful to our fire service colleagues for their swift response,” she added.
“An initial investigation suggests the fire was caused by a burnout in an electrical motor. Damage was limited to this motor. We will review the incident in more detail in-line with our health and safety procedures.”
The City Hall clock tower has recently undergone repairs and an electrical motor that drives the hands was replaced by specialist engineers in July.
The clock has been informing the people of Norwich of the time since the 1930s and is one of the most prominent features of the city’s skyline.
City Hall has spent more than £10,000 on servicing and repairing the clock tower in the last five years.
It stopped working due to a mechanical fault with its motor on July 23.
Eight years ago it underwent a £200,000 restoration project, which has been criticised after its gold gilding began peeling in January this year.
In 2019, it was stopped for 12 days from May 30 to June 6 for repairs to its gears.
2021 brought further issues when the clock malfunctioned numerous times.
Problems again arose in October 2023 when the clocks changed for winter daylight saving, causing it to only display midday or midnight.
The timekeeper also stopped for three months in 2017 to allow for repairs to City Hall’s tower.