Eight crews at fire in Billericay

Crews have extinguished a fire at a restaurant in Billericay.

Firefighters were called today at 5.04pm and crews from Billericay, Orsett, Basildon and Brentwood initially attended.

Four more crews, from Great Baddow, Epping, Corringham and Basildon, in addition to two Aerial Ladder Platforms, from Southend and Grays, were tackling the fire at its height.

As of 7.30pm, the fire was extinguished and crews remained on the scene to check for hotspots.

There is likely to be smoke in the area for some time so residents are advised to keep their doors and windows closed if possible.

Part of Laindon Road is also likely to be closed into the evening.

Station Manager Jason Gould said: "When crews arrived, 50% of the roof was completely alight and had started to collapse in places.

"Firefighters worked incredibly hard in extremely hot conditions in a large building, measuring about 50 metres by 50 metres, to prevent the fire from spreading.

"The bar/restaurant was not open at the time but crews have done a fantastic job to limit the damage as much as possible."

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Billericay, Corringham, Epping and Great Baddow's crews are on-call firefighters - they live or work within 5 minutes of their fire station and are paid to protect their community. 

If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter too. 

Find out more about the role and how to apply at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call