MORE than 50 firefighters were called to an arson at Colchester’s former Odeon Cinema.

Fire crews from Colchester, Tiptree, Manningtree, Brightlingsea, Coggeshall, Chelmsford and Clacton were called to the derelict building, in Crouch Street, at 1.46am.

Residents reported homeless people have been living in the building, but following a search fire crews confirmed no-one was inside.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said that at 3.50am firefighters reported the building was 25 per cent alight and 100 per cent smoke logged.

They split the building into four sections to assist them in tackling the fire and used 67 sets of breathing apparatus

A 6.20 am, crews requested the attendance of four more fire engines for support, making the number of firefighters involved around 50.

Due to the size and state of the building it was necessary to call out multiple crews for support and back up.

Nearby residents were advised to keep their windows and doors closed due to the amount of smoke in the area.

The fire was extinguished by 9am and the smoke was cleared using positive pressure ventilation fans.

Incident Commander Terry Povey said: "It was very challenging for the fire crews because of the state of the derelict building.

"There were numerous hazards, such as holes in the floor, and it was heavily smoke-logged."

He added: "Our crews have worked extremely hard throughout the night to tackle the fire.

"As part of our efforts it was essential that we carried out a search for anyone inside as it is known that homeless people sometimes visit the building.

"I can confirm that following a search no one was found to be inside."

Following an investigation the cause of the fire was recorded as deliberate.

Gazette:

CGI - how the front of the old Odeon cinema could look

Plans to convert the historic cinema into apartments were given the green light earlier this month by Colchester Council's planning committee.

Exact details on what contributions developer Blumarble Property will make to the town in return for planning permission still need to be ironed out.

The £10million proposals will see the front of the building, including the street-facing facade, converted into 11 apartments while the main auditorium will demolished to make space for a new building which will house 35 more flats.