BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio 5 live are back on-air after Quay House in MediaCityUK was evacuated.
Both stations went to ‘back-up’ or ’emergency’ audio at 1.50pm Wednesday as the alarm was sounded in the studios. Sarah Brett and Nihal Arthanayake left their show on 5 live, cutting a caller short saying they have to leave the building. A pre-recorded interview then appeared along with a message saying normal programmes are not available right now.
At BBC Radio Manchester, a caller was on-air when the alarm was heard in the background. The caller faded and music started. After the first song a pre-recorded announcement explained live programmes were not available.
BBC 6 Music, where Mark Radcliffe is live on-air, is broadcast from Dock House nearby and was unaffected.
The situation turned out to be a false alarm and programming was resumed at 2.05pm.
In a statement on Twitter, the BBC said: “One of our Salford buildings was briefly evacuated following a false fire alarm triggered in the canteen. It was not a security issue. The building was fully open and operational within 15 minutes.”
Here’s how the team at 5 live left the building:
https://twitter.com/RadioToday/status/867366243761868802
https://twitter.com/Katewest0/status/867363762403246084
