Emergency services called to roof fire

Firefighters have been tackling a blaze in the roof of a house. Five fire engines and a height vehicle were called to the property in Pelham Road, Gravesend. Operations began at 11.14am today and didn’t end until 2pm.

There were no reported casualties and the cause is not yet known. Neighbour Craig Fenn was driving by when he spotted the blaze.

He said: “It looked like it came from the attic, because there were no flames or smoke coming from downstairs. I think nobody was home either.

“I didn’t see ambulance or police, just the fire crews. The roads nearby were closed off and traffic was diverted, but it wasn’t bad.”

The house fire in Pelham Road, Gravesend. Picture: Craig Fenn Firefighters and officers are at the scene

A police cordon was put in place around a few homes near Mayfield Grammar School, but the school was not inside the cordon. The road was closed between Lennox Road and the roundabout opposite the Pelham Arms at the junction of Old Road West and Pelham Road.

Laura Ginn, who lives in Pelham Road, said: “I saw a big blaze but couldn’t really see where it was coming from.

“I saw firefighters were running around to see where the hydrant was.” She said she had seen them digging to get to it and once they’d gained access, they immediately started putting the flames out.

Part of Pelham Road has been blocked off

She added: “There was a lot of smoke. It’s just shocking.

“It’s a horrible thing for the person who lives there to come back to.” Another resident of Pelham Road, who asked not to be named, was one of those whose home was inside the cordon and wasn’t being allowed back in for safety reasons. He said: “My sister saw it first.

She told me and I just saw smoke coming up off the roof.

Water was being sprayed into the roof of the house

“It was coming out in flames. Then I saw the first fire truck and then a few more after that. “As soon as the first arrived, they were kicking the door down.

It took them a few moments to kick it down and then they got inside.”

Firefighters used a height vehicle to tackles the flames from above.

Additional reporting by Alex Langridge