A major fire at the Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone has led to the evacuation of guests, with firefighters tackling a blaze believed to have started in the building’s basement.
The incident began at around 2am at the Britannia Hotels-owned property on the seafront. The cause of the fire has not yet been established.
At the height of the response, 26 fire engines and a height vehicle were sent to the scene. Fifteen fire engines and the height vehicle remain in attendance, with crews wearing breathing apparatus as they continue efforts to extinguish the fire.
A welfare centre has been arranged at Three Hills Sports Park for people evacuated from the hotel, with Folkestone and Hythe District Council helping to provide support.
Kent police officers are assisting with traffic control, while the Kent Fire and Rescue Service Volunteer Response Team is offering support and advice.
A spokesperson for the fire service said it was “responding to reports of a fire at the Grand Burstin Hotel in The Harbour, Folkestone”. Firefighters were said to be making good progress.
The hotel was previously used to accommodate asylum seekers. In 2014, around 130 people were housed there temporarily to ease overcrowding at a hotel in south London.
The decision was criticised at the time by Damian Collins, then Conservative MP for Folkestone and Hythe, who sought reassurance that the arrangement would be temporary and said local communities should not have to accept asylum seekers without consultation or notice.
The Home Office said the migrants would remain in Folkestone for no more than two weeks. David Monk, who was then council leader, said: “We are reassured that the original timescale of the Home Office has been met.”
Mr Collins also said he had been assured that the Government would cover the cost of the arrangement. In 2019, Folkestone and Hythe District Council said 59 asylum seekers had been housed at the hotel as an “emergency measure” because of “extenuating circumstances”.
