Firefighters were called out to another blaze at a derelict building in Digbeth last night
13:40, 09 Nov 2025Updated 14:48, 09 Nov 2025
The area around Bradford Street in Digbeth(Image: Knight Frank)
Firefighters tackled another blaze at a derelict building in a Digbeth street which is notorious for abandoned sites going up in flames.
The blaze ripped through a three-storey derelict building in Bradford Street at around 6.20pm yesterday, November 8.
Luckily, no injuries were reported and fire crews had the blaze under control by 7.30pm.
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Local neighbourhood group ‘Friends of Bradford Street’ has repeatedly warned city leaders over the “very real dangers” to the public from derelict sites in the area catching fire.
A FOI (Freedom of Information) data request by the group earlier this year revealed there had been 28 fire service callouts across just four derelict sites in the Bradford Street area since 2021.
In September the group, made up of local residents, wrote on X: “Why has this been allowed to continue?
“Each fire callout drains time and money. Fire crews should be protecting the community, not repeatedly attending sites that owners can’t be bothered to maintain and would rather leave unsecured, neglected…a danger to anyone who enters.”
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It added: “The problem is not only about wasted resources. It is about the very real danger to the public.
“Rough sleepers often enter these buildings to find shelter. Young people use them to hang out. Every callout shows how close we are to a preventable tragedy.
“How long will this go on? Are we expected to wait until there is a fatal incident before anyone takes responsibility?
“We are talking about a potential loss of life. The alarm bells have already rung 28 times since 2021, yet nothing has changed.”
The group called on Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police to hold developers who have left buildings to rot to account.
On last night’s fire, the fire control room for West Midlands Fire Service told BirminghamLive: “We attended a derelict three-storey building fire in Bradford Street.
“We were called at 6.20pm and left the scene just over an hour later.
“We left the incident to West Midlands Police as the force was there for traffic management. No casualties were reported.”