by Sarah Shaffi

sshaffi@thekmgroup.co.uk

A fire which destroyed a flat is being investigated by police.

Two firefighters in breathing apparatus had to go into the flat in St Francis Close in Strood yesterday (Sunday) at around 8pm.

Other flats in the block had to be evacuated while the blaze, being treated as suspicious, was brought under control.

Crews were also called to a house fire in Chaucer Road, Gillingham, just before 7pm.

A metal table stored in a cupboard under the stairs had fallen over and caused a number of fuses to short circuit.

The fuses knocked into the gas pipe and started a small fire. A couple and their child had to evacuate the property but there was no one was hurt and there was no fire damage to the house.

A spokesman for the fire station said: “It is very unlikely this will ever happen again, but we are warning people not to store junk under the stairs near fuses.”