Fire in high rise flats, Southend-On-Sea

Firefighters were called to a block of flats on Coleman Street, Southend at 1:02pm when a neighbour heard a smoke alarm sounding.

On arrival, crews gained access to the affected flat which was situated on the eleventh floor. They confirmed that there was a fire in the kitchen and the property was heavily smoke-logged.

The building’s ‘stay in put policy’ was followed, so no other flats were evacuated.

Crews worked hard to extinguish the fire quickly and prevent damage to neighbouring properties.

Firefighters confirmed the fire was out by 1:30pm.

Crew Manager, Sunil Galvin, said “Crews today were professional throughout the incident despite the challenging conditions, and it’s because of this that we were able to extinguish the fire so quickly.

“When we arrived, the occupant was out but the hob had been left on and a pan had overheated, causing a fire. Fortunately, the occupant had working smoke alarms which alerted a neighbour to the fire. Without a smoke alarm, the damage could have spread to other flats within the building.”

Unfortunately, the flat suffered a lot of fire and smoke damage and is no longer habitable.

Do you have working smoke alarms in your home?

Smoke alarms save lives. They can alert your family as well as your neighbours and passers-by to a fire in your home if you're not home.

We recommend you have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home and that you test them at least once a month.

If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms, please get in touch. Visit essex-fire.gov.uk/book or call 0300 303 0088.