Crews tackle fire on Marine Parade, Southend
Update 5:30pm
Our Fire Investigation Team, Essex Police and London Fire Brigae have now left the scene of the incident. Essex Community Safety have taken over.
The Police have issued the following statement appealing for witnesses:
We are appealing for information or witnesses to an incident in Southend.
At around 2.30am today (Sunday 16 January) we received a report of a fire at Wimpy restaurant, Marine Parade.
We attended and found the property alight and no one inside the property.
We are currently on scene with fire brigade colleagues whilst we carry out enquiries to establish the facts.
DCI Jennifer Bliss, overseeing the investigation, said; “We want to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen something or someone who may have been acting suspiciously at the time.
“A few neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution whilst fire brigade worked to extinguish the fire.
“We will remain on scene whilst we work with fire brigade colleagues to establish the cause of the fire.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote incident 130 of 16 January.
You can also submit a report online at https://www.essex.police.uk or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Update 12:45pm
Crews left the scene at around 7:30am, and Grays Aerial Ladder Platform followed at around 12:30pm.
We’re continuing to work alongside Essex Police to establish the exact cause of the fire last night. We have evidence to suggest the fire was started deliberately and Essex Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward with any information.
London Fire Brigade are also on the scene with their Fire Dog Simba.
Fire Investigation Officer, Nick Singleton, said “Crews worked really well to minimise damage to neighbouring buildings and prevent the fire from spreading.
“There may be some disruption in the area as parts of the building have been declared unsafe. Please bear with us as we work to make the area safe."
Firefighters were called to a fire in Southend-On-Sea at 2:30am, after our control room received a number of calls reporting flames in a restaurant building on Marine Parade.
On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a fire on both the ground floor and first floor (100% alight) and the roof was also affected (50% alight).
Neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution.
Firefighters used a combination of hose reel jets and main line jets to extinguish the fire by 4:30am.
A fire investigation will be carried out this morning to determine the cause of the fire.
Essex Police remain at the scene.
