Fire in industrial unit
Update 1:30pm
Crews are making steady progress to extinguish the fire using an Aerial Ladder Platform from above as well as from the ground.
Incident Commander Richie Green said: "We will be scaling this incident down to six crews shortly and we expect to remain at the scene into the evening and potentially overnight to monitor hot spots within the building.
"Our priority is to extinguish the fire and help to safely escort staff in the area away from the site as they head home from work.
"We'd like to thank local residents and businesses for their patience, this has caused lots of disruption on River Way, Harlow and we're grateful for the support we've received while we deal with this incident."
Update 11:00am
The fire is under control and, thanks to the hard work of crews, has been contained to one building.
People nearby are still asked to keep their windows shut and avoid the area. Essex Police are assisting with road closures nearby.
Around 60 of our firefighters are at the scene, including colleagues from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Group Manager Scott Meekings said:
“Our crews have done an amazing job to contain the fire to the affected site which is a food manufacturing building and stop it from spreading to neighbouring properties.
"We have sectioned the fire into four areas and have control of it. We'd like to thank those who live and work nearby for their patience and support - we expect that the road and access will be closed for most of the day, so please do avoid the area and if you're nearby, keep your windows closed if they are nearby."
Firefighters were called to a fire in an industrial building on River Way, Harlow at 5:22am.
On arrival, crews confirmed that a factory measuring 50m x 50m was 95% alight and 100% smoke-logged. Access to the building is extremely limited and crews from Essex and Hertfordshire are working hard in difficult conditions to tackle the fire as quickly as possible.
This is an on-going incident and we anticipate disruption to traffic in the area for quite some time. Where possible, please avoid the area. There is a large plume of smoke over Harlow Town and we are advising local residents to keep windows and doors closed.
