Fire at grocers in Gillingham

Part of Gillingham High Street was sealed off this morning after a fire above a halal meat shop.

About 20 firefighters and paramedics, fire investigators, police and investigators from the Serious Crime Directorate all attended the blaze in Lahore Meat & Grocers, yards from Gillingham railway station.

Owner Zia Cheema, 41, said: “We were sleeping upstairs and smelt a bit of smoke so we rang the emergency services. By the time they got here we had managed to get out. We’re hoping to re-open soon.”

Fire service station manager Lawrence Pater said: “We believe it was caused by a problem with the electrics.

“When we arrived there was a developed fire on the ground floor. Everyone had made their escape from the rear of the premises. There were a number of people.

“It was under control within about 20 minutes. The shop is 100% damaged - about 30% by fire and the remainder by smoke.”

A large crowd gathered at the scene just after 9am today. Police refused to let anyone into the area for more than an hour.

Firefighters broke into the grocery store by forcing the metal shutters open and putting a ladder up to a first floor window.

A police spokesman said: “Police were made aware as it was believed possible someone was trapped in the property. It has now been confirmed this is not the case and no injuries have been reported. Police are not treating the fire as suspicious.”