New drone images show the aftermath of the devastating fire at a former Debenhams where dozens of residents were evacuated.
A second boy has now been arrested after crews were called to the Guildhall Street site in Canterbury at about 8.30pm on Monday.
At its height, 50 firefighters were on hand to tackle the inferno at the empty department store, which led to the evacuation of 30 people from their flats, with one person requiring medical treatment.
This afternoon police confirmed a second arrest has been made – this time a 15-year-old boy from Ashford.
A first arrest was made yesterday when another 15-year-old handed himself in. He remains in custody.
Pictures captured by TheDroneMan show the charred remains of the roof among the many tiled coverings across the city centre.
Kent Fire and Rescue finished its operations in the area at about 3.30pm on Wednesday after making the area safe. A cordon in the high street has now been removed.
The extent of the damage caused by the blaze is yet to be revealed, with firefighters now able to access the building’s interior.
Previously, they could not get a foothold into the site’s core due to the fire’s complex nature.
The images show how crews prevented the raging blaze from spreading to neighbouring buildings, with nearby properties seemingly unaffected.
The exact cause is not yet known, but an investigation is due to start imminently and the matter is being treated as suspicious.
Snow Shang, who lives nearby in a High Street flat with her nine-year-old son was among the evacuees.
She said: “We smelled the smoke and I said ‘something is wrong’. I told my boy to get up.
“Immediately I heard an alarm in the hallway and could see smoke everywhere. It was really scary.
“I can’t believe this has happened in Canterbury High Street, the most beautiful cathedral area. That’s why we came to Canterbury.”
Speaking from the scene yesterday, the fire service’s assistant director of response, Neil Griffiths, described the fire as “significant” and said it was a complex operation to bring under control.
He said: “Firefighters were met with a significant developing fire. Adding to the complexity, it was an old building, full of voids.
“It was very, very difficult to fight the fire. I can’t stress enough what a great job they did.
“The first fire engine was here in four minutes, which enabled us to put an assertive attack on the fire and prevent it from spreading to surrounding buildings.
“Once we got the people out of the buildings, we were worried about protecting the city of Canterbury from the fire spread.”
The fire has also left the fate of a long-awaited development of the site uncertain, with original plans for 74 homes and 12 shops in the newly-named Guildhall Quarter seeming unlikely at this stage.
Approved in January 2020 when Debenhams was still open, it had been hoped the swift repurposing of the iconic city centre building would provide job opportunities and high-quality accommodation.
Supporters lauded it as “a great example of what can be done” with promises of new stores and flats overlooking the historic setting.
Since then, delays largely thanks to water pollution issues at Stodmarsh and the Covidpandemic have seen costs increase and many become cynical over the chances of seeing the plans come to life.
