An investigation has been launched to establish the cause of a fire which raged at a house in Chatham this morning.

Emergency crews were called to Grosvenor Avenue shortly before 9am after flames and smoke poured from the roof of the semi-detached home.

Firefighters used specialist height vehicles to help fight the blaze, while others wearing breathing gear searched the property, which was empty.

The fire had been extinguished by 11.15am, with no injuries reported.

But Kent Fire and Rescue Service says it has now launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the start of the blaze.

A spokesman said: "The fire is now out and an investigation into the blaze will take place to determine cause."

Emma Jones, 45, who lives nearby, told KentOnline: "I was having a coffee in the back garden and thought someone was having a bonfire. Then I came out to the front and saw flames licking the roof.

"Someone said it started under the stairs and that it could have been electrical.

"It was going for two hours. It just went from the ground up. It went up the stairs.

"They definitely did well to control it. They had to bash the door in but I don’t think anyone was in there. They did a brilliant job.

There were six fire engines. There was a guy on a cherry picker right above the fire, using a pole to break through the roof so they could get at the fire.”

Judi Benavente, 50, lives next door to the house that was on fire, and feared it would spread to her home.

She said: “I looked out the window and there was a man on his phone - I went out the front door and saw smoke coming out the front of the building. It got progressively worse and we thought someone might be in there.

"My husband tried to bash the door in but couldn’t do it. Then the fire brigade turned up.

"I couldn’t watch. Everything I own is in that house. Fortunately, they’re well-built houses and it didn’t spread. If they were new-builds the whole street would have gone.”

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