PHOTOS: Industrial unit fire
Update 1pm (6 January):
The cause of the fire has been recorded as deliberate.
Update 4.20pm (3 January):
Crews have left the scene in the care of the site owners.
Update 3pm (2 January):
The fire has been extinguished. A crew will keep a watching brief, on a rolling basis, until tomorrow morning, at which point we plan to leave to site.
An investigation will be carried out to establish the cause of the fire.
Update 12.30pm (2 January):
Three crews are in attendance and are continuing to work to fully extinguish the fire. A digger is being use to move materials and assist crews in dampening down.
Update 6pm (1 January):
A crew will remain at the scene overnight.
Station Manager Richie Green said: "Firefighters have worked really hard since this incident started more than 30 hours ago and they have done a brilliant job to get is safely under control.
"95% of the fire is now extinguished but, due to the condition of the building, we will continue firefighting operations in the morning.
"Smoke is still coming from the site so please keep your doors and windows closed."
Update 9am (1 January):
Firefighters continued to extinguish the fire overnight and will remain at the scene throughout today.
On-call crews from Ongar, Manningtree and Hawkwell are working through the site this morning.
Due to smoke coming from the incident, residents are reminded to keep their doors and windows shut, particularly those in the Broad Road area.
Station Manager Ben Turner said: "We'll be on the scene all day so residents will notice more smoke as we remove materials from the industrial unit and continue to extinguish the fire.
"This is nothing to worry about as we have the incident under control."
Update 5pm:
Firefighters are working with partners to remove material from the building to extinguish the fire.
The incident has been scaled down to three crews who will likely remain throughout the night to extinguish this fire.
Update 3:30pm
Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire in an industrial unit being used to store recyclable materials.
Crews are working with partners to remove the recyclable material from the building to extinguish it outside.
If you live in the area, please keep your windows and doors shut. Please avoid the area while emergency services deal with this incident.
This is likely to be a protracted incident.
We’re currently at the scene of a large fire at an industrial unit in Convent Lane in Braintree.
If you live in the area, please keep your windows and doors shut. Please avoid the area while emergency services deal with this incident.
On arrival, crews reported that an industrial unit - measuring approximately 60 metres by 20 metres - was 100% alight. The unit is being used for storage.
Crews have requested a further two crews, both from Dunmow Fire Station to assist.
Crews are currently working to extinguish the fire.
This is a live incident and we will provide updates.
Could you be an on-call firefighter?
Many of the firefighters involved in this incident are on-call firefighters, who live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station.
If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter and be paid to protect your community.
Find out more about the role at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call
