WATCH: Falling brick leads to road closure

Wednesday 17 April 2019

A loose brick falling from Pizza Express’s chimney stack closed one end of Halkett Place yesterday, as a Police cordon was put up and firefighters made the area safe.

Pedestrians watched as the Fire Service sent two crew members up to the roof using an aerial ladder platform extending out from one of their engines in order to assess the safety of the chimney.

Pictured: A Police cordon was put up to minimise the risk of more falling bricks hitting members of the public.

Crew Commander of White Watch, Toby Aubert, on the scene, told Express that they needed to ensure the chimney was secure unless more bricks fell down to the busy street below.

He said: “One of the bricks fell from the chimney onto the pavement obviously causing concern for the public. 

“We’ve just positioned our aerial ladder platform so we could get up there to assess the situation. We’ve removed three or four loose bricks so the chimney stack is relatively safe, but does need attention, but it’s safe for the moment.” 

Video: Firefighters worked to make the area safe.

Some witnesses around the area speculated that it was a nesting pigeon which dislodged the brick, but when this was put to the Crew Commander, he commented: “I have no idea”, adding jokily that he “cannot confirm or deny that it was a pigeon!”

Shortly after the firefighters had retrieved the loose bricks from the chimney stack, the Crew Commander said they would be reopening the road.

It has been a busy couple of days for the Jersey’s firefighters after a blaze tore through Pizzeria Romana on York Street on Monday.

An investigation has now been launched into the cause of the fire and longstanding residents of the area are hoping that they will be able to rebuild after the devastation caused to the listed building.