Firefighters issue safety advice after flat fire

Firefighters have given safety advice after a flat fire in Chigwell earlier this evening.

The resident had attempted to tackle a fire in the kitchen while cooking when the fire spread out of control. The resident then got out of the flat, stayed out and called the fire service out.

Five other families in the block of flats also evacuated when hearing their neighbour's smoke alarms going off.

On arrival, crews reported that the second storey flat had flames and smoke coming out of the windows and worked quickly to extinguish the fire by 9pm.

The fire left the flat smoke and water damaged and firefighters remained at the scene to ventilate the flat and the neighbouring flats.

Watch Manager Mark Lemon from Loughton Fire Station said: “Most house fires start in the kitchen so we’d urge the public to be extra careful when cooking. If you discover a fire in your home, get out of the property, stay out and dial 999.”

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Some of the firefighters at this incident are on-call firefighters in Waltham Abbey. If you live or work within 5 minutes of Waltham Abbey Fire Station, you could be paid to protect your community as a an on-call firefighter.

Find out more at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call