Quick thinking from a group of neighbouring businesses saved a wholesalers from burning down.

Three fire engines rushed to warehouse blaze, at wholesaler Rochesters, in Sir Thomas Longley Road, in the Medway City Estate, only to find it had been extinguished.

Seemingly a fire had started at around 1.30pm on Friday, January 18, just after all the staff from Rochesters left to go home.

Immediately, staff at the opposite business, GPC Clear Solutions, called the fire crews and neighbouring businesses to put the fire out.

Howard Turner, who works at alloy wheel repair company Inspraytion, leapt to action and put out the flames.

The 37-year-old from Gillingham said: "A colleague down the road asked if I had a fire extinguisher and I said yes so we put out the fire.

"I would say, if no one had noticed the fire then Rochesters wouldn't be at work on Monday, I think the building would have completely burnt down.

"I felt like the hero of the day."

General Manager Mark Tristem said: "Thank you for the quick thinking and support from Howard, Mandy and her brother at GPC Clear Solutions and Mandy in the burger van next door who called me down."

"When I heard the building was on fire I did immediately think the worst.

"So it was massive relief that when I arrived everything was sorted.

"I think that an apple crate which might have had some paper caught fire and then it spread onto the door.

"Our one saving grace was that our doors are metal, if they were wood it would have been a lot worse.
"The fire did spread through the letter box but the damage was mostly contained to the door.

"I'm not sure how quickly it would have spread so I'm glad Howard put it out when he did.

"The amount of smoke was phenomenal, the fire crews used a big extractor to get it all out.

"Luckily no damage was caused to any of our products."