Large field fire in Harlow under control

Update as at 2.45pm on 14/08/2022

Firefighters have returned to the area this morning to dampen down some hotspots.

In attendance at this incident:

2 x Harlow, 1 x Waltham Abbey, 1 x Epping, 1 x Loughton, 1 x Brentwood, 1 x Witham (Incident Command Unit), 1 x Stansted (Off Road Vehicle), 1 x Newport, 1 x Leaden Roding, 1 x Chelmsford, 1 x Corringham (Water Tanker), 2 x USAR, 1 x Thaxted, 1 x Walthamstow (LFB), 1 x Bishop's Stortford (Herts)

A large team of firefighters have worked extremely quickly to bring a field fire in Harlow under control.

Crews were called to a field near Fern Hill Lane at 12.01 today following reports of a fire. Fifteen hectares of stubble and grass, plus 800 metres of hedgerow have been destroyed, with firefighters working hard to prevent the fire from affecting nearby properties. Unfortunately the gardens of three homes have been damaged but the fire did not reach any buildings. Some overhead cables have been affected so UK Power Networks are on site.

At its height, 18 crews of firefighters were at the scene including our Urban Search and Rescue, off road vehicles and incident command unit teams as well as appliances from Hertfordshire and London. Essex Police and East of England Ambulance Trust colleagues were also in attendance.

Group Manager Steve Wintrip said: “The fire is now out. It’s testament to the hard work and tenacity of the fire crews that we were able to stop it damaging homes. It took a lot of effort and everyone did a great job, especially our team in the control room who had to deal with a large number of calls.”

The fire was out by around 2.30pm although some crews remain on scene.

The cause of the fire will be investigated.