House fire caused by electrical fault

Firefighters from Braintree, Coggeshall, Halstead and Dunmow were called to an incident on Chaucer Crescent, Braintree this afternoon. 

On arrival, crews confirmed it was a fire on the first floor of a semi-detached property. 

Neighbours initially heard the smoke alarms sounding in the property and called 999. 

Crew Manager Paul Brazier said: "When we arrived there was a significant fire in the semi-detached house. Crews worked quickly and professionally to extinguish the fire and stop it from spreading further. 

"Unfortunately the first floor has been significantly smoke damaged, luckily the property is vacant so there isn't any furniture or belongings that were damaged. We believe the cause of the fire was an electrical fault in the immersion heater." 

All of the firefighters that responded to this incident were on-call. They live or work within 5 minutes of the 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 here.