The fire which caused massive damage to a historic building in central Paphos appears to have started from a restaurant chimney, police said on Wednesday.

The fire, which broke out on Tuesday shortly after 6pm, started at a restaurant located on the second floor of the building.

Firefighters arrived at the scene with four tankers, a telescopic firefighting platform and a tanker truck, and managed to extinguish the blaze.

Twenty people had been at work in offices housed on the first floor at the fire’s onset and three in the restaurant, Paphos assistant police chief Michalis Nikolaou said.

He said evidence points to the conclusion that the fire, which completely destroyed the top floor of the two-storey building, was caused accidentally by a faulty chimney, after an employee lit coals in the grill.

The employees subsequently attempted to extinguish the blaze unsuccessfully with the result that the fire spread to the rest of the restaurant and the office premises.

No injuries were reported.

The scene remains under guard while investigations continue.