PICTURES: Fire in a thatched roof cottage

Incident Update @17:45

Our crews left the scene at 3.24pm and the road has reopened. 

Firefighters have been working through the night following a fire at a property in Cressing Road, Braintree. Three crews remain on scene this morning dampening down. Cressing Road is closed between Coggeshall Road and Trotters Field because of the incident so motorists are asked to find alternative routes.

Our crews were called at just after midnight to a fire in a thatched roof cottage, measureing 15 metres by five metres. The occupants managed to get out of the property. The roof has been destroyed and a full investigation into the cause of the fire will take place.

Station Manager Howard Midwood said: “Sadly there has been extensive damage to an historical thatched cottage but thanks to the skill and professionalism of the firefighters, the fire was stopped from spreading to the neighbouring properties and as many personal possessions as possible could be saved from inside. Our control room team also did a fantastic job, co-ordinating the response.”

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Many of the firefighters who attended this incident are on-call firefighters, who all live or work within five minutes of an on-call fire station and attend incidents.

If you live or work within five minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter too.

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