SOME 30 firefighters battled flames to prevent a kitchen fire turning into a major blaze in a listed building at the heart of a Suffolk town.

At its peak, six crews drawn from Suffolk and Essex were involved in tackling the fire which was first reported in Callis Street, Clare, near Sudbury, shortly after 11am.

The fire had broken out in the kitchen of the large, detached, two-storey listed building.

Fire bosses last night praised officers for their work at the property which was saved from even more widespread smoke damage.

Four people were evacuated from the building and were treated for the effects of smoke by paramedics.

Fire service group manager Ken Williamson said: “The retained crew from Clare was the first here and when they arrived they found a very developed fire in the kitchen.

“In total we had six appliances here, which is 30 firefighters. We had a number of firefighters using breathing apparatus. The people evacuated with smoke inhalation were all fine and did not need hospital treatment.

“We don’t yet know exactly what the cause of the fire was. We’ve got our fire investigators looking at that. There has been extensive smoke damage.”

The owners of the property were unavailable for comment. The fire was out by 1pm, though fire crews remained at the scene to ventilate the building and to check for any fire spread in voids.

Crews at the scene came from Bury St Edmunds, Long Melford, Haverhill, Ipswich and Ixworth.

The affected building is one of a number which hold listed building status in Callis Street.