An investigation is underway to find out what caused a large fire to break out at a derelict building in Colchester.Around 50 firefighters tackled the blaze at the former Odeon cinema in Crouch Street early this morning (Sunday 29 October).People living near to the fire were advised to keep their windows and doors closed due to the amount of smoke.The fire was out by about 9am.Incident Commander Terry Povey said: “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.”The fire has now been extinguished and we will remain on site to check for hot spots.”The road will stay closed for some time today and I urge people to stay away from the area.”An investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out in due course.”
Source: Fire breaks out in derelict former cinema in Colchester | Anglia – ITV News