Chemical incident

Firefighters were called by the Ambulance Service to reports of an unknown chemical in a residential flat in Witham.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the flat to collect a sample of the chemical so it could be identified by the Service's DIM (detection, identification and monitoring) equipment.

Nearby residents were asked to temporarily evacuate their flats as a precaution so the fire crews can work to identify the chemicals involved and make the scene safe.

*Update 2:30pm* The scene has been declared safe and all remaining residents have been allowed to return to their flats. Firefighters have handed over the scene to the Police to await a specialist company to clean the affected area in the flat.