A fire ripped through a former care home in Shoebury on Saturday evening, sending thick smoke into the air as firefighters battled the blaze for several hours.
Delaware House, on Maplin Way, went up in flames at around 7.30pm, with emergency services called to the scene as the fire took hold of the empty building.
The former care home has reportedly become a hotspot for break-ins in recent months and had already been set to be demolished and replaced with a modern 77-bed care home.
Roads around the scene were cordoned off by police for several hours while firefighters worked to bring the fire under control.
The blaze caused major damage to the building, with the roof collapsing during the incident.
Firefighters used an Aerial Ladder Platform to spray water down onto the building from above, while multiple crews on the ground used hoses to tackle the flames.
Police have said the fire is being treated as suspected arson.
The incident has raised fresh concern among residents about the security of empty and derelict buildings, particularly where sites are already known to have been accessed before.
One local resident, Frankie Simmo, said: “I live at the back entrance to this building and there’s kids in there all the time causing trouble.”
Empty buildings can quickly become a magnet for trespassers, vandalism and anti-social behaviour if they are not properly secured, and fires at derelict sites can be especially difficult and dangerous for crews because of structural damage, unknown hazards and the risk of collapse.
Figures show Southend is one of Essex’s busiest fire stations.
According to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service data, Southend Fire Station was the second busiest fire station in Essex in 2025, with crews attending 1,828 incidents.
Only Basildon Fire Station attended more, with 2,100 incidents recorded during the same period.
Southend is one of Essex’s wholetime fire stations, meaning crews are based there around the clock and work shifts to provide a 24-hour service.
Leigh Fire Station is also a wholetime station and attended 997 incidents in 2025, making it one of the busiest in the county.
Shoeburyness Fire Station, which serves the eastern side of the city, is an on-call station. On-call firefighters usually live or work close to the station and are paged when they are needed, rather than being based there full-time.
The 10 busiest fire stations in Essex in 2025 were:
- Basildon – 2,100 incidents
- Southend – 1,828 incidents
- Harlow Central – 1,817 incidents
- Chelmsford – 1,783 incidents
- Colchester – 1,735 incidents
- Grays – 1,439 incidents
- Rayleigh Weir – 1,183 incidents
- Clacton – 1,130 incidents
- Leigh – 997 incidents
- Orsett – 983 incidents
Whereas Shoeburyness Fire Station only attended 117 incidents in 2025.
The Delaware House fire is now being investigated as suspected arson.
Photos: Aaron Chesham