RESIDENTS, including young children, were evacuated after an arson attack on a block of flats.

Thames-side firefighters were called to the blaze in a block of flats in Windmill Street, Gravesend.

After being called out at 11.36pm last Saturday they spent half an hour battling the blaze in a third-floor converted flat.

The eight flats in the block are run by Kare-Homes Ltd, an organisation which provides people with temporary housing.

According to its website it offers accommodation for people such as teenage parents, people with mental health problems and recovering alcoholics and drug users.

Kare-Homes Ltd works with agencies such as social services, the Probation Service and the police.

Residents in the flats, many with young children, were evacuated from the building for more than two hours.

One resident says she was not aware of the blaze above her flat until she was alerted by another neighbour.

She said: "I had my grandchildren staying with me and I was just getting into bed when I was told to get out of the flat.

"I had to stand in the street with my grandchildren and I was in my bedclothes.

"We could see flames coming out of the windows from the street."

She added: "Whoever started this scared a lot of people, including lots of young children.

"Since I have been here I haven't seen any trouble and the people who live here seem nice.

"But I am quite scared something like this will happen again."

A Gravesham Council spokesman said: "We have some people who were on waiting lists for permanent accommodation living in the Kare-Homes flats.

"In the flat the fire happened in we had a young woman waiting for permanent housing but fortunately she was not there at the time.

"We are just thankful nobody was seriously injured."

Kent County Council councillor Michael Snelling, who is on the social care and community policy overview committee, says he has not heard of any previous trouble at the temporary housing accommodation.

He said: "I know we are facing a huge demand in terms of homelessness in Gravesend and you have to make sure you find places for people."

"The question you should ask is how much it's going to cost."

A spokesman for Kent fire said: "We are treating this fire as suspicious."

A Kare-Homes Ltd spokesman said: "As there is an ongoing investigation regarding the fire incident, I would make no comments.

"Thankfully our properties are equipped with state-of-the-art alarm systems which prompted a very quick response from the fire service."

  • A 37-year-old man from Gravesend appeared at Dartford Magistrates' Court on September 4 charged with arson and reckless endangerment.