FLAMES engulfed a kitchen when a gas pipe broke and caught fire in a flat in North Cray.
The fire in the flat in St James Way is believed to have started close to the cooker.
But when firefighters arrived they found the flames were being fed by a broken gas pipe.
A woman and two children escaped from the flat and raised the alarm after a smoke detector went off.
Firefighters used breathing apparatus and thermal imaging cameras to isolate the source and the gas supply to the flat was capped shortly after fire started around 5.10pm on Friday.
A shop below the flat escaped damage during the fire thanks to salvage techniques used by the firefighters.
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