House fire

Firefighters were called to a house fire in Old Leigh Road, Leigh this afternoon.

On arrival, crews reported that there was a fire in a detached house.

Crews called for two extra crews from Southend and Rochford and an Aerial Ladder Platform from Grays to help extinguish the fire.

Crews worked to extinguish the fire by 5pm.

An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.

Incident Commander Mark Elliot said: “Our control operators reacted quickly by mobilising extra appliances when requested.

“Initially we thought there could be occupants inside the house and firefighters wearing Breathing Apparatus (BA) carried out a thorough search of the house. Thankfully, all occupants were safe and not at home during the incident.

“I’d like to thank our colleagues in the Ambulance Service who waited at the scene to make sure nobody was harmed.”