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| Firefighters tackle large blaze at city centre site | Firefighters tackle large blaze at city centre site |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Those living nearby were urged to keep their windows and doors shut | Those living nearby were urged to keep their windows and doors shut |
| Fire crews are still in Canterbury city centre more than nine hours after a large blaze broke out at a former Debenhams store. | Fire crews are still in Canterbury city centre more than nine hours after a large blaze broke out at a former Debenhams store. |
| Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) said eight engines and a height vehicle were called to the empty property in Guildhall Street shortly after 20:30 GMT on Monday. | Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) said eight engines and a height vehicle were called to the empty property in Guildhall Street shortly after 20:30 GMT on Monday. |
| About 30 people were evacuated from nine nearby flats and 55 firefighters were in attendance at the peak of the incident. | |
| At 06:00 on Tuesday, eight fire engines and two height vehicles were still at the scene, which has been cordoned off. | At 06:00 on Tuesday, eight fire engines and two height vehicles were still at the scene, which has been cordoned off. |
| A total of 50 firefighters have helped tackle the blaze | A total of 50 firefighters have helped tackle the blaze |
| Kent Police said the cause of the fire is still unknown. | |
| Kai Valentine, who works for a nearby insurance company, said he was unable to get into work because of the fire and only found out about the blaze once he arrived. | Kai Valentine, who works for a nearby insurance company, said he was unable to get into work because of the fire and only found out about the blaze once he arrived. |
| "[With] the cost of living at the moment, [and] everything else, hopefully small businesses don't get affected too drastically," he said. | "[With] the cost of living at the moment, [and] everything else, hopefully small businesses don't get affected too drastically," he said. |
| Mr Valentine also said he was finding it hard to breath in some areas near the fire. | Mr Valentine also said he was finding it hard to breath in some areas near the fire. |
| About 30 people were evacuated from nearby flats | About 30 people were evacuated from nearby flats |
| Those living nearby are still being urged by the fire service to keep their windows and doors shut due to the large amount of smoke in the area. | |
| Resident Snow Shang said being evacuated with her nine-year-old son was "really scary". | |
| Neil Griffiths, assistant director of response at KFRS, said: "[What] we are more worried about, once we got the people out of the buildings, is about protecting the city of Canterbury from the fire spread." | |
| He said one of the service's priorities is to deal with the incident as quickly as possible to limit the disruption in the town. | |
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