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Cause of large church fire inconclusive due to damage

Greig Watsonand
Laura Hammond,East Midlands
News imageDerbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Debris and melted steel has piled up inside the church Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
Emergency services have been unable to determine what caused the fire at Kilburn Methodist Church

A joint police and fire investigation has been unable to establish the cause of a large fire at a church "due to the scale of the damage and risk of structural collapse".

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to the two-storey Kilburn Methodist Church in Chapel Street, Kilburn, Derbyshire, at 00:24 BST on Friday.

Residents in neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution and the road was closed while firefighters dealt with the blaze. Crews initially left the scene on Friday morning before returning to tackle "newly identified hotspots, monitor conditions and assist the fire investigation".

Final crews left the scene at 12:58 and handed over to the building's owner.

Drone footage released by Derbyshire Police showed the scale of the blaze

No injuries have been reported, and it has not been confirmed how many homes were evacuated.

News imageDerbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Damage at the churchDerbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
A joint police and fire investigation could not identify a cause due to the scale of the damage and "risk of structural collapse"

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