Crews extinguish fire affecting four outbuildings

Crews stopped a fire affecting four outbuildings from spreading to bungalows.

Firefighters attended Kerry Road, Grays yesterday at 4.59pm. A shed was completely alight and three others were about a quarter alight when Grays' crews arrived.

Watch Manager Dave Hogan said: "Crews did really well to stop the fire spreading to two bungalows, which were very close to the affected sheds and outbuildings.

"Apart from fascias and soffits, the homes were not damaged, which is full credit to the crews' hard work."

Crews also gave first aid to a man who had suffered burns to one of his arms. He was left in the care of the Ambulance Service.

The fire was fully extinguished by 5.52pm. It is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

Watch Manager Hogan said: "Make sure you follow our advice when using electrical appliances - don't leave items turned on when they are not in use and don't charge items for long periods or when you are not at home."

Follow our electrial appliance safety advice

Turn them off: never leave items on at night or if you leave the house (unless they are designed to be left on, like freezers)

Charge safely: don’t leave items on charge or plugged in overnight or while you are out of the house. Only use the charger supplied by the manufacturer and don't charge for long periods

Don't overload sockets, leads or adaptors: plugging too many electrical appliances into one socket can lead to overheating

Use sockets safely: it’s better to use a bar adaptor (multi board) on a lead than a block adaptor

Only use one adaptor per socket: don’t plug one adaptor into another and try to keep to one plug per socket