Commercial building affected by fire, Colchester

Update 2 June 2022

A fire investigation has been carried out following the fire in Colchester yesterday morning. Essex Police have released the following statement:

A man has been arrested in connection with an investigation into a fire in Colchester.

We were called to the incident, in St John Street, shortly before 5.30am on Wednesday 1 June by colleagues in Essex County Fire and Rescue.

We closed the road whilst the fire service dealt with the incident.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been carried out and a man has been arrested on suspicion of arson.

The 47-year-old remains in custody today.

We need anyone who witnessed the incident or has any footage of it or the moments before or after it to get in touch.

If you have any information, you can submit a report online at https://www.essex.police.uk.

Please quote crime reference 42/139828/22.

You can also call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Update 12:45pm

We have reduced our attendance down to two crews and an Aerial Ladder Platform and we anticipate the road will re-open shortly.

Incident Commander, Ryan Ainger, said: “I want to thank Crew Manager Dave Farrant and the crews who attended the incident this morning; their tactical plan and rapid intervention meant we were able to contain the fire, which could have otherwise affected four buildings.

“We’d like to thank members of the local community for their patience and cooperation, and we'd also like to tank Essex Police and Essex County Council who have been really supportive in helping us to keep everyone safe while we work to put the fire out."

An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.

Crews from Colchester, Wivehnoe, Coggeshall and Chelmsford were called to a fire in Colchester this morning when a passerby noticed smoke in a commercial building on St Johns Street.

On arrival, crews confirmed that the fire was affecting a cafe and a convenience store, and has since spread to the roof of the building and into the adjoining roof spaces.

This incident is on-going. At present, the majority of the fire has been extinguished and firefighters are working to expose beams in the roof spaces to dampen down any hot spots.

Essex Police are at the scene and the road remains closed. Please avoid the area and find an alternative route.

Further updates will be provided as soon as possible.