Streets have been cordoned off for most of the day as emergency services battled to keep the incident under control.
Oliver leader de Saxe reports.
Oliver leader de Saxe reports.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Caught on camera, one of Kent's most famous high streets burning into the night.
00:0750 firefighters and 8 fire engines were called to Canterbury city centre after a derelict
00:14department store caught fire.
00:17As the smoke cleared this morning, the flames were under control, but far from out, with
00:25police cordons blocking off Canterbury's main through way.
00:28There have been fires, but I haven't seen one on the high street, no, and I've been
00:34here for 74 years.
00:37It's empty, it was only discovered late last night I believe, but an empty building has
00:42got risk of fire because no one's keeping an eye on it.
00:46It's ruined about four hours this morning, I need to get to the bank to rectify a payment
00:53error that they've made on my account, and I can't do that now.
00:59Just over my shoulder you can see Kent Fire and Rescue hard at work.
01:05Dozens have been tackling the fire that broke out in the old Debenhams building since last
01:11night, with at least 20 people being forced out of their homes by the fire.
01:19But from what we've been hearing, it could have actually been much worse, despite much
01:24of the high street being cordoned off.
01:26So we evacuated about nine flats in the close proximity, about 30 people, but if we hadn't
01:33have acted in an assertive, safe and effective manner, this would have seen the whole block
01:39destroyed, which would have been devastating to the city of Canterbury.
01:43Before the businesses based in the historic buildings near the fire, those fears were
01:49felt first hand.
01:50About three o'clock in the morning I got a message from one of my colleagues saying be
01:55aware that the centre of Canterbury is ablaze, that was the expression he used.
01:59We're very worried about the whole city going up because it's all wood round here, and it
02:02may look like brick, it's all mathematical tile and cover, and if there was such a thing
02:06as backdraft or flashback, it would catch all these buildings alight.
02:10Residents will be allowed to return to their homes when the fire is finally out.
02:17Only then will investigators be able to start piecing together exactly what caused Canterbury
02:25to have such a narrow escape.
02:28Oliver Leader, The Sacks, for KMTV.