Police and fire investigators at the scene of a fire which gutted flats in Harmer Street, Gravesend

by Dan Bloom

Investigations are ongoing after a fire in Gravesend town centre.

Trapped people screamed for help as flames gutted a converted townhouse in the early hours of Sunday.

More than 20 firefighters descended on Harmer Street to battle a blaze in several flats.

Louisa Tandy, who lives above her dog grooming salon next-door, was woken by a female firefighter shouting.

“She asked me if there was any smoke in my flat and at that point I noticed some pouring out next door,” said the 40-year-old mum-of-one.

“It was coming out from pretty much all the windows.

“I was slightly panicking. I went down my stairs and saw out the back that someone was trying to jump over my fence.

The charred building after the fire

“He indicated to the window next to mine where there was a woman and a man shouting ‘help, help, fire, we can’t get out.’"

A couple of people were taken to Darent Valley Hospital after they breathed in smoke. Others are thought to have been treated at the scene.

One man is reported to have leapt from the building and helped someone else do the same. An ambulance service spokesman said a man aged about 20 was taken to hospital with cuts to his arm and suffering smoke inhalation.

Firefighters spent five hours at the scene after receiving a call at 12.40am on Sunday.

Dozens of forensic investigators examined the stairwell on Monday and used a cherry picker to check if the roof of the four-storey building was stable.

A police spokesman said: “Officers are currently treating the fire as unexplained. Inquiries are ongoing to establish the cause.”