Firefighters believe a blaze at a derelict hospital building in Chelmsford could have been started deliberately.
Three crews from Chelmsford and one from Great Baddow were called to the fire at a former isolation unit in Baddow Road at about 9.10pm yesterday.
It took an hour for officers to put out the blaze.
Leading firefighter Tony Creak, from Chelmsford, said: "It is definitely suspicious. It was well alight. Fire was coming out the windows of the top floor but it was always in hand.
"A good part of the top floor was gutted - severely damaged."
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