A DERELICT building has been left destroyed after a fire ripped through a property in Southend.
Firefighters were called to Southchurch Avenue, in Southend, yesterday evening at 6:45pm.
On arrival, two properties were affected by the fire as crews tackle the blaze from both inside and outside.
After around 90 minutes, firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.
According to a councillor and a nearby resident, the building as been derelict for at least a year.
One nearby resident and witness, who wishes not to be named, said: “I was in my back garden at the time and wondered what the smell was. I look out and saw all the smoke going up and down the street.
“Literally within minutes the emergency services turned up. It was all taped off and they then took control of it fairly quickly.
“I have always known it to have been derelict for a while, but I have walked past their numerous times and the back door has been open. It is like an ‘accident waiting to happen’.
“People who probably shouldn’t be in there, have been using it and doing things they shouldn’t be doing there.
“So, I am not surprised to be honest.
“I hate to say it, it is a terrible thing for a building to catch fire but just because it has, it doesn’t mean it is necessarily a bad thing, as now it won’t be used in the wrong way.”
Matt Dent, Labour councillor responsible for the Kursaal ward, added: “It is a derelict property, with various planning applications going in and being refused in the past, such as a conversion to flats.
“The place has been closed as long as I've been a councillor at least, but it always seemed like your standard ‘a bit of everything’ shop.”
An investigation is now being carried out to establish the cause.
Station manager, Dave Walpole, said: “Our firefighters tackled the fire from both inside and outside, including using an aerial ladder platform to make sure there were no remaining hotspots on the roof.
“Thanks to the hard work and skill of our crews, the fire was under control quickly and did not spread any further.”
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